AUSTIN, Texas — The bill will soon come due for the state of Texas now that voters have overwhelmingly approved Prop 4 which provides significant property tax relief to most homeowners.
The constitutional amendment raises the homestead exemption and lowers the school district property tax section on your bill. So, the state will now give districts $7.1 billion every year to make up for those lost dollars.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), the lawmaker behind Prop 4 and one of the Legislature’s most vocal property tax relief proponents over the last couple of decades, says the state can afford to do it.
What’s more, now that it’s in the constitution, he says they don’t have any other choice.
“We’ve looked at sustainability as well as the impact on taxpayers and we can do both. And so, don’t worry, the money is there,” Bettencourt told us on Inside Texas Politics. “And the voters approved it. And when they did, that enshrined the constitutional change, the $100,000 exemption, homestead exemption, into the constitution. So, that’s permanent now and we’re going to make good on our commitments.”
Lawmakers are currently back in Austin for the fourth special session this year, which has never happened before when there’s also been a regular session.
Bettencourt says it’s harder to get things done and find consensus because of the world we live in today.
“It takes time in this type of, what I would consider to be, a frothy political environment everywhere in the country. It’s not Texas. It’s everywhere. It takes time to work through everybody’s opinions,” said the Republican.
And since the Texas House and Senate have had an antagonistic attitude towards each other throughout 2023, the fourth special session could be just as difficult as all those that came before.
Bettencourt says the chambers can heal their working relationship, but it will take the right public policy.
“Texas is a big state. It’s the biggest republican state in the union. We’ve got big personalities. There’s room for all of this if you do the people’s business, like we did on property tax relief,” the Republican said. “And when you do real things for real people that’s the best public policy. It also happens to be the best politics, at least in Uncle Paul’s opinion.”
And if there will be a fifth special session, he wants it in the spring.
“My honey-do list grows long, and the holidays are here,” the Senator said.