Texas legislature introduces property tax reform

The 86th Texas Legislature has filed bills in both the Texas House and Senate that will begin to reform the state’s property tax system, according to numerous press releases from officials.

Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen held a press conference with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, as well as other representatives to announce the legislation being considered. House Bill (HB) 2 and Senate Bill (SB) 2 were filed Thursday, Jan. 31.

The bills are identical in form and will aim to bring more transparency to how property taxes are set. It will also create a statewide database that would allow residents and property owners to see how each jurisdiction’s proposed tax rate will affect them individually, and allow them to see ahead of time proposals to change rates, according to a release from Speaker Bonnen’s office.

The legislation will also lower the rollback rate to 2.5 percent for entities that collect more than $15 million in taxing revenue, which is currently at 8 percent. This means if any proposed tax rate exceeds the rollback rate, it will automatically trigger a tax election. Lastly, it will create a Property Tax Advisory Board within the Office of the Comptroller, which will provide recommendations to the comptroller that will aim to improve the system. This new rollback rate will not affect smaller taxing entities.

In the press conference held Thursday, Abbott, Patrick and Bonnen said they were wanting to limit how much property taxes were increasing, with all three saying constituents have been pushing for the reform.

“People desperately need property tax reform,” Patrick said in the press conference. “This is a great day for homeowners and business owners who are sick and tired of seeing their property taxes go up 7, 8, 9 10 percent or more every year. Those days are over.

Some pushback is expected from smaller taxing entities, however. Representatives opposed to the new reform, specifically the rollback rate, worry about a jurisdiction’s inability to pay first responders and make other improvements to their district. In previous legislative sessions, specifically in 2017, representatives tried to lower the rollback rate. The Senate requested 4 percent, while the House asked for 6, according to the Texas Tribune.

Texas. Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the filer of SB 2, stated in a press release from his office numerous counties across the state saw large increases in their property taxes, including Harris County, which saw a 51 percent increase from 2013 to 2017 and Dallas County, which saw a 33 percent increase.

Property tax reform has been a hot-button issue in Texas for several legislative sessions now. Back in October, when Texas Sen. Charles Perry hosted a town hall in Breckenridge, he said property tax reform was one of the biggest priorities for this year’s legislative session.

Currently, the Stephens County property tax rate sits at 73 cents per $100 valuation, according to the Stephens County tax assessor-collector’s website.