Texas has extra money, a $33 billion surplus. Some lawmakers want to use about half of that to lower property taxes. State senators have proposed three bills that, if passed, could lower property tax bills this year.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt was elected to the Texas Senate in 2014 but before that served 10 years, from 1998 - 2008, as the Harris County tax assessor-collector. He joined Amy Davis to explain the bills and what they could mean for people in Texas.
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Watch the full Ask Amy episode here.
A proposal to raise the state’s homestead exemption for school districts. That bill - carried by Bettencourt - would raise the amount of a home’s value that can’t be taxed from $40,000 to $70,000, with an additional $20,000 bump for seniors. The proposal would save a homeowner who pays the state’s average school tax rate an additional $341 on their annual tax bill - and save seniors another $227 each year.
That bill would require the state to funnel at least $5.38 billion into public schools, which make up the biggest chunk of Texans’ property tax bills. That’s on top of $5.3 billion that Senate budget writers have separately proposed for property tax cuts over the next two years.
In exchange, the bill, which amends a 2019 landmark school finance law, would cut school property tax rates by 7 cents per every $100 in property value. For the owner of a $300,000 home paying the state’s average school district tax rate, that would mean $210 shaved off their annual property tax bill.
A separate measure by state Sen. Tan Parker, a Flower Mound Republican, would cut $1.5 billion in business property taxes.
The Senate has already passed all three bills and sent them to the House for a vote. If they pass the House, the three bills will be on the ballot this November. If voters approve them, they will take effect immediately and lower the average homeowner’s property tax bill by about $800.
The Texas House is considering a separate bill that would lower the state’s appraisal cap from 10% to 5% on homestead properties. This bill has not passed in the House yet.
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