The battle between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan over competing property tax relief plans is heating up, with former President Donald Trump throwing his support behind Patrick’s proposal.
Both the House and Senate have passed differing versions of property tax relief. The Senate’s proposal would increase the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000 and allow seniors or disabled adults to get an additional $30,000. The House’s version, meanwhile, would limit how much the taxable value of a property can increase each year.
Both versions also include money allocated to compress school taxes.
Patrick has repeatedly criticized Phelan’s proposal as being similar to appraisal caps implemented in California which he blames for destroying their housing market, giving Phelan the nickname “California Dade” in the process.
Trump took to Truth Social, his proprietary social media network, to give Patrick backup on Sunday.
“I fully support Dan Patrick’s, and the Senate’s, $100K senior homestead exemption & $70K for those under 65,” said Trump, while calling “California Dade’s” plan a “disaster for Texas.”
Both the House and Senate plans offer around $12 billion in new property tax relief. With the state taking in a record $33 billion surplus, groups such as Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and the Huffines Liberty Foundation have said neither plan are sufficient, instead calling on the bulk of that surplus to be used to put the state on a path toward property tax elimination altogether.
This is not the first time Trump has been opposed to Phelan.
In 2021, Trump took aim at Phelan for blocking election integrity legislation, pledging to work against him in the next primary election. Phelan, however, ultimately ran unopposed.
Patrick, meanwhile, serves as the chair of Trump’s Texas Elected Leadership Team and was one of the first elected officials in Texas to endorse the president’s 2024 reelection bid.
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