TEXAS, USA — Since the 88th Legislature’s first special session started, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has ignored the Texas Senate plan to reduce property taxes. The Senate wants to increase the homestead exemption.
However, last week, Phelan said he would study it, and announced the Select Study Committee on Sustainable Property Tax Relief. It is composed of 13 house members and three public members. The committee will consider issues broadly affecting property taxes and make recommendations for long-term, sustainable property tax relief.
“I think what the Speaker is trying to do with the Select Committee … is study the issue in depth going into the next regular session that is 2025,” said Democratic State Rep. Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie) on Inside Texas Politics. Turner is a committee member.
Turner said this will be a long-term project to see what the viability is for providing lasting property tax reduction. And will look at all the ways to do this including appraisal caps, rate depreciation, homestead exemptions or a combination.
Also, public education will be a major part of the discussion. Public schools are funded by property taxes.
“Because property taxes are fundamental to how we fund public schools in Texas, public education has to be at the very forefront of this discussion,” said Turner.
Eliminating the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) tax rate portion of the school property tax is something the committee will study. The M&O is the tax rate levied by school districts to fund operations and maintenance of schools, including new construction.
Turner doesn’t think the House will reconvene before the end of this special session.
“I don’t think it’s likely. I think the House, the leadership decided to pass legislation that was very specific to what the Governor asked for in his call, whether you support that policy or not, that’s what the House did. And I think the House put it over to the Senate, and the Senate has to decide whether it’s going to take action. So far it hasn’t,” Turner said.
Turner shared that if the stalemate in the legislature is to end, then Governor Abbot has to get everyone together and show some leadership.