- Card in Support of SB 1081 (Franchise Tax)
- Card in Opposition of HB 995 (Mandating Paid Sick Leave)
- Card in Support of HB 3258 (ATD Bill)
- Card in Opposition to SB 1161 (Reduces amount taxpayer saves from Ch. 313)
There are fewer than 40 days remaining in the 86th Legislative Session, and lawmakers are becoming extremely busy as committees are now meeting regularly into the evening to complete work by Memorial Day.
The big news this week is that we are one step closer to getting a property tax reform bill passed. The Senate on Monday passed Senate Bill 2, a plan that would prohibit school districts from increasing property tax collections by more than 2.5 percent without an election and block cities and counties from collecting more than 3.5 percent year-over-year without a vote. Currently, cities and counties can take an 8 percent increase in property tax revenue before taking it to the voters.
The House’s property tax plan, House Bill 2 does set a 2.5 percent rate on cities and counties but exempts community colleges, emergency service districts, and hospital districts. The House’s version also includes a carry-over provision that lets taxing units carry over unused revenue growth for five years, allowing them to exceed the trigger point for an election if they had less than 2.5 percent growth in preceding years. The most concerning component of the House’s plan is having new certificates of obligation and other non-voter approved debt be counted toward the 2.5 percent growth tally. Now that SB 2 is heading over to the House, we will be watching closely to see how lawmakers reconcile their versions of the bill. The two chambers are also debating a school finance plan that would dedicate at least $2 billion to lowering school property taxes.
Last week, Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced their support for a one-cent increase from 6.25 percent to 7.25 percent in state sales tax dedicated to lowering property taxes. This would make the Texas sales tax the same as California, the highest in the country with another 2 percent local tax for a total of 9.25 percent. Latest reports show the House will not have the 100 votes to ensure any bill that would increase the state’s sales tax can be passed.
Regarding the budget, the following conferees have been announced:
House:
John Zerwas (R-21)
Oscar Longoria (D-35)
Sarah Davis (R-134)
Armando Walle (D-140)
Dr. Greg Bonnen (R-24)
Senate:
Jane Nelson (R-12)
Larry Taylor (R-11)
Lois Kolkhorst (R-18)
Robert Nichols (R-3)
Joan Huffman (R-17)
Other priority issues we monitored this week included mental health efforts in our public schools, disaster preparedness, prohibitions on local governments taking actions that interfere with the employer/employee relationship with regards to scheduling, and Paid Sick Leave.
Advocacy efforts taken include: