Quick Takes
- Property tax proposals move forward in the House and Senate.
- NTC members convened at the Capitol for NTX Unites
- Committee hearings are in full swing, and the NTC lobby team activity is picking up pace.
- House Bills will reach the floor this week.
State Report
The House and Senate both convene at 2 pm today. However, multiple House and Senate committees are meeting today and throughout the week. Several high-profile issues were taken up by legislators in committee last week, including proposals related to social media and minors, education savings accounts, gender transitioning, public school library books, expansion of gambling, and the electric grid.
The Senate unanimously passed its $16.5 billion package of property tax relief bills last Wednesday. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick issued a statement expressing his thanks to Senator Paul Bettencourt and Senator Tan Parker for leading the Senate efforts to pass SB 3, SB 4, and SB 5. SB 3, jointly authored by all 31 senators, increases the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000, while SB 4 lowers the tax rate school districts can levy and reduces the amount of recapture for some school districts. SB 5 increases the Business Personal Property tax exemption from $2,500 to $25,000 and establishes new inventory tax credits. If passed by the legislature, the homestead exemption and business personal property tax exemption will require voter approval in November.
Meanwhile, the House version of property tax relief, HB 2 by Representative Morgan Meyer, was voted from the Ways & Means Committee last Monday by a vote of 10-1 and is now in the Calendars committee waiting to be scheduled for the full House to consider. HB 2 is part of the lower chamber's $17.3 billion property tax relief plan that will reduce the property appraisal cap from 10% to 5% and applies the cap to all properties. This measure must also go before voters if passed by the legislature. The Senate and House proposals utilize a substantial amount of the budget surplus, so lawmakers from both sides will ultimately negotiate the final property tax relief bill(s).
The House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Greg Bonnen, met last Thursday to vote out the budget bill, HB 1, and the supplemental appropriations bill, SB 30. These bills are expected to go before the full House the week of April 3rd. This is typically one of the longest days on the House Floor each session.
NTC members gathered at the Capitol last week for our NTX Unites Advocacy Day in Austin. Our volunteers spent the morning in the Legislative Conference Center, receiving briefings from our region's House and Senate committee chairs. Later that afternoon, our members walked the halls and met with the 51 NTX Delegation offices to discuss regional legislative priorities. The event concluded with a reception in the Capitol for NTC members, legislators, and staffers.
