Lawmakers to hear from public on property tax relief

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- A special committee of Texas House lawmakers on Friday will hear public testimony regarding a slate of new legislation aimed at cutting property taxes.

The House Select Study Committee on Sustainable Property Tax Relief convenes at the Capitol at 11:00 Friday morning to hear testimony "only on methods to reduce the tax burden of appraisal increases on all real property."

Speaker Dade Phelan created that committee amid a months-long standoff on a deal to lower property taxes. He was a primary supporter of legislation to cap the amount that a property's appraisal value can increase each year, but that idea fell flat in the Texas Senate.

The two chambers are now at odds over the strategies the state should employ to lower property taxes, primarily whether the raise the homestead exemption to $100,000. That is the Texas Senate's top priority, but Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas House have supported legislation without it.

The House select committee consists of eight Republicans and five Democrats, as well as three public members: Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl E. Johnson, County Line Barbecue owner Don "Skeeter" Miller, and former TDCJ Director and current government consultant Brad Livingston.

The committee is tasked with a wide range of issues concerning property taxes. Per Speaker Phelan, the committee shall:

1. Evaluate the dynamic effects of tax rate compression, limits on taxable value, and homestead exemption increases to maximize savings to property owners
2. Study the viability and sustainability of eliminating maintenance and operations taxes by 2035
3. Examine historical rates of appraisal increases and recommend methods to reduce the tax burden of appraisal increases on all real property; and
4. Examine the long-term value of homestead exemptions to Texas homeowners in conjunction with the impact of appraisal increases.

At stake is more than $17 billion of the state's record surplus that top Republican leaders have earmarked for property tax relief. Gov. Abbott is pushing to spend all of that money on "tax rate compression," or lowering school district tax rates by increasing the state's share of education funding. He says he hopes to eliminate the bulk of school district property taxes, but that idea has faced bipartisan skepticism over the practicality.

Lawmakers have about a month left to find a compromise if they want their proposal to come to the voters in the November election.

This coverage is ongoing and will be updated throughout the day.