Within four days, the Senate saw legislation filed by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston) seeking to provide for additional property tax relief and quickly passed it out of the chamber.
If the bill passes, it is estimated that the owner of a home with a taxable value of at least $300,000 could see savings of $100 on their property tax bills.
The bill accomplishes this by directing money, amounting to a maximum of $4 billion, provided by the updated biennial revenue estimate given by Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar in July, to “buy down” or compress the Maintenance and Operation (M&O) tax rate for all property owners in the state.
In a joint statement on Monday, a coalition of advocates for sound tax policy, comprised of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute, and Americans for Tax Reform said:
The property tax burden is crushing Texas families, forcing them out of their own homes, and making it exceedingly difficult for them to afford other necessities, such as education and health care. Texans cannot afford to wait until 2023 for the Legislature to address these issues. Not only is the burden too high, but the system is designed to allow insatiable local governments to keep squeezing every last dime out of taxpayers.
The ongoing second called special legislative session will reach its forced conclusion on Sunday. Three bills purporting to provide property tax relief have already gone through the entirety of the legislative process and are currently awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s consideration.
