Gov. Greg Abbott was joined by multiple members of the Texas Legislature for a ceremonial signing of a property tax relief package in New Caney on Wednesday.
Coming into the 88th Legislature last fall, Abbott set property tax relief as a priority item to be handled with the state’s record $30 billion surplus, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick eventually came to an agreement following a stalemate about the details of a potential bill.
The package, made up of Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3, was passed during the second special session of the 88th Legislature and was formally signed into law by the governor last month.
Homestead exemptions will increase from $40,000 to $100,000, resulting in an average of $1,300 saved yearly in property taxes, per Value Walk. Additionally, the exemptions will be raised to $110,000 for seniors over 65 or homeowners with disabilities.
At Wednesday’s ceremonial signing, Abbott said he expects the bill to “usher in a new era of appraisal reforms in the state of Texas,” per ABC 13.
“None of these monumental changes could have been accomplished without the hard work of Lieutenant Governor Patrick and Speaker Phelan. We all came together to offer Texans the property tax relief they so desperately deserve, and I am proud to sign these new laws today,” Abbott said in a press release.
Abbott was joined at the ceremonial signing by both Phelan and Patrick, as well as Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-University Park), and others.
“The signing of this Texas-sized tax cut, the biggest property tax cut in history, is a massive victory for all 5.7 million Texas homeowners,” stated Patrick in the press release.
“The combination of compression and the $100,000 homestead exemption is a powerful one-two punch that will cut school property taxes for the average priced home by $1,250 to $1,450 every year on their homesteaded property.”
Phelan added that this bill is “the largest in the country,” while Bettencourt claimed Abbott signed the “greatest tax cut in the history of the world.”
“It’s a fabulous $18 billion tax reduction bill, and every Texan will see huge savings on their tax bill. It was a great joy working with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker, House, and Representatives Meyer and Metcalf,” Bettencourt said in the governor’s press release.
Still, Andrew McVeigh, political director of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR), has been critical of the glowing praise given to the bill.
“Despite some claims to the contrary, the total amount of new property tax relief in the package equates to roughly $12.7 billion,” wrote McVeigh on the TFR website.
“While most property owners will see at least some tax relief, this number unfortunately falls short of actually being the largest property tax cut in Texas history, with the first-place spot going to relief passed in 2008. This amount also falls short of being at least half of the projected budget surplus (~$33 billion), which would require $16.5 billion.”
McVeigh also wrote that some relief is better than nothing, but “the only way Texans will see real, lasting tax relief will be by compressing property tax rates with state dollars and eventually eliminating property taxes altogether.”
