Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Good Wednesday Morning. My oldest son (6) right now calls states "lands." It's pretty hilarious. Anytime he sees a car with a different license plate: "Wow, Dad, those people are from another land."
Get in touch: greg@gregcox.law
The first pawn comes out in the property tax chess game. The Senate Committee on Local Government, led by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–SD 7) Senate yesterday unanimously – that's four Rs and three Ds – passed the Senate's priority property tax legislation to the full chamber. "As a priority bill of Lt. Gov. Patrick, along with SJR 2, SB 4 raises the school district homestead exemption to a record $140,000 statewide. That’s nearly $500 in annual savings for the average Texas homeowner when combined with the SB 1 budgeted ISD M&O tax rate compression," Bettencourt said. The committee hearing was fairly brief at just under two hours.
Bettencourt emphasized that the $45 billion in state funds dedicated to tax relief since 2019 had achieved important gains but had been partially offset by local government tax increases. Bettencourt called for stronger measures to limit local spending growth, describing SB 4 and SJR 2 as critical next steps.
