By KAREN BROOKS HARPER
The Texas Tribune
Editor’s Note: The following was originally published by The Texas Tribune. The story is being republished here with the Tribune’s permission.
AUSTIN, TX—A landmark $18 billion tax cut for property owners in the state headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk earlier this month, ending a months’ long stalemate among the state’s top Republicans with a deal that drew near-unanimous support from legislators.
Both chambers adjourned sine die Thursday, July 12, ending the second special session Abbott had called this summer to hammer out an agreement on property tax relief.
“We knew … the most contentious issue that we faced was how to return these dollars to the taxpayers,” House Speaker Dade Phelan told House members after they approved the bills Thursday evening. “Congratulations to you, but more importantly, congratulations to the taxpayers of Texas. They are the big winners.”
During floor debate Thursday, July 13, Democrats attempted to insert benefits for renters, teacher pay raises and more money for public education into the tax-cuts package in a series of floor amendments but were unsuccessful.
A cheer went up on the chamber floors upon the passage of the three bills that make up the package: Senate Bill 2, which details the proposed property tax cuts; Senate Bill 3, a franchise tax relief bill; and House Joint Resolution 2, a constitutional amendment required to authorize the tax cuts.
“We now have a record-setting plan that will affect every family, every individual, every business, every operation in this state pretty much, for the next several decades,” said Houston Republican Sen. Paul Bettencourt, an architect of the package. “Every Texan deserves it because it’s their money.”
The package puts $12.6 billion of the state’s historic budget surplus toward making cuts to school taxes for all property owners, dropping property taxes an average of more than 40% for some 5.7 million Texas homeowners, and offering brand-new tax savings for smaller businesses and other commercial and non-homesteaded properties. The voters would need to approve the package in November for the cuts to take effect this year.
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