The Texas Legislature convened June 28 for the second special legislative session on property tax cuts, with the Texas House and Senate putting forth separate property tax cut measures.

In a nutshell

The Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 1, which is the same legislation it passed during the last special session, while the Texas House reported from its Ways and Means committee House Bill 1, which is also the same bill it passed during the last special session.

Diving in deeper

According to previous reporting, the Senate bill would:

  • Increase the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000
  • Reduce the taxes Texans pay to school districts by 30%
  • Prevent businesses making less than $2.7 million each year from paying the state franchise tax

According to previous reporting, the House bill would:

  • Cut property tax rates for school districts by $0.162 per $100 valuation
  • Funnel $12.3 billion back into schools to prevent funding loss

What else?

  • Both bills are accompanied by joint resolutions—SJR 1 and HJR 1—which would allow Texans to vote on the tax cuts during the November 7 general election.
  • An amendment to SJR 1 introduced by Sen. Roland Gutierrez and adopted by the Senate would give bonuses of:
    • $2,000 to teachers in districts with 20,000 or more students
    • $6,000 to teachers in districts with less than 20,000 students

Quote of note



“The Texas Senate will continue to fight for homeowners, teachers and businesses,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate, in a June 28 news release. “We look forward to working with the House to pass property tax relief and supplemental payments for teachers in the coming weeks.”

Stay tuned

Both chambers will meet at 10 a.m. June 30 to continue working on property tax cuts.