Senate passes SB 1, Property Tax Reform, adding Democrat amendment
June 28, 2023 | Austin, TX
In less than one day, the Texas Senate just passed its version of property tax relief legislation before adjourning until Friday. Meanwhile, the House filed several bills on the topic and adjourned until next Wednesday.
SB 1 by Senator Paul Bettencourt, which includes a combination of tax compression and a $100k homestead exemption provision, would provide $22 billion in property tax relief for homeowners. The bill is scheduled to go to the House for consideration there.
However, the call for Special Session #2 by Governor Greg Abbott specified that only tax compression approaches should be considered. In the first Special Session, House Speaker Dade Phelan refused to send a similar Senate bill to committee, having passed a version relying on tax compression and then swiftly adjourning the House and sending home legislators. The two chambers were at an impasse and nothing was resolved.
After the Senate passed its bill, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick commented that he had reached out to Speaker Phelan and said they should meet to resolve their conflicts this time and he indicated that Phelan had not rejected the idea.
Teacher Bonus Amendment
As Paul Harvey would say, “Here is the rest of the story.” Before they passed their version of property tax relief, the Texas Senate added a little something that will no doubt make the bill harder for politicians to vote against.
Democratic Senator Roland Guittierez proposed the amendment to add $2,000 in supplemental pay to teachers in urban school districts and $6,000 to rural districts, which is estimated will cost $3.2 billion. After an hour of discussion, the amendment received a unanimous vote, as did the property tax relief bill.
And this is how sausage is made.
Texas House Bills
Texas House members also filed several bills aimed at reducing or eliminating property taxes. You can read Texas Scorecard’s article that details the bills filed in the House on property tax relief.
Brandon Creighton (SD 4)
(512) 463-0104 (Austin Office)
(281) 292-4128 (District Office)
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Paul Bettencourt (SD 7)
(512) 463-0107 (Austin Office)
(713) 464-0282 (District Office)
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Lois Kolkhorst (SD 18)
(512) 463-0118 (Austin Office)
(979) 251-7888 (District Office)
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Rep. Cecil Bell (HD 3)
(512) 463-0650 (Austin office)
(281) 259-3700 (District office)
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Rep. Steve Toth (HD 15)
(512) 463-0797 (Austin office)
(346) 220-0300 (District office)
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Rep. Will Metcalf (HD 16)
(512) 463-0726 (Austin office)
(936) 539-0068 (District office)
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Rep. Ernest Bailes (HD 18)
(512) 463-0570 (Austin office)
(936) 628-6687 (District office)
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