Texas House Preliminary Passes Largest Property Tax Cut in State History, Senate Approval Unclear

AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF News ) – The Texas House preliminarily approved the largest property tax cut in state history on Thursday but whether or not Republicans in the Senate will agree with the plan is unclear.

The revamped version of Senate Bill 3’s $16.5 billion proposal would send $12 billion to school districts to drive down tax rates, boost the state’s homestead exemption of public school taxes from $40,000 to $100,000 and tightens the state’s appraisal cap.

For Texans 65 and older, the homestead exemption increases to $110,000. Homeowners with property valued at $350,000 would save a total of $2,800 over the next two years.

The bill passed by a 140-5 vote.

GOP House Speaker Dade Phelan’s proposal to lower the state’s cap on annual appraisal increases from 10 to 5 percent is an issue that Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has said is a non starter.

For the second time this session, the TX House has overwhelmingly passed legislation that would lead to the largest tax cut in state history. Thank you @MorganMeyerTX for your work on #SB3 & #SJR3. Looking forward to our chamber passing #SB3 on third reading tomorrow. #txlege
— Dade Phelan (@DadePhelan) May 18, 2023

The House must vote on the proposal on Friday before sending it back to the Senate to hammer out key differences on this issue.