Speaker Phelan announces Texas House property tax plan, Lt. Gov. Patrick immediately dismisses it despite previously supporting similar proposals
Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick clashed over tax policy on Thursday as Phelan unveiled the Texas House version of property tax reform. House Bill 2 , by Ways and Means Chairman Morgan Meyer , R-Dallas, would reduce the cap on annual appraisal increases from ten percent to five percent, extend that cap to business not just homeowners, slash most ISD “maximum compressed tax rates” by fifteen cents, and more. Here’s the way the Office of the Speaker describes it:
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Speaker Dade Phelan
and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick clashed over tax policy on Thursday as Phelan unveiled the Texas House version of property tax reform.
House Bill 2 , by Ways and Means Chairman Morgan Meyer , R-Dallas, would reduce the cap on annual appraisal increases from ten percent to five percent, extend that cap to business not just homeowners, slash most ISD “maximum compressed tax rates” by fifteen cents, and more.
Here’s the way the Office of the Speaker describes it:
“House Bill 2, also known as the Property Tax Relief Act , would lower school district property taxes by 28% and reduce the limit on annual appraisal increases to 5% for all types of property in the state, shielding homeowners, small business owners and other property owners from sudden increases in values to their property that are oftentimes unsustainable. House Bill 2 would result in the largest property tax cut in Texas history, saving homeowners in the state $460 on their annual property tax bill in 2024, which would grow to $590 in 2025.”
Unlike the Texas Senate ’s plan, Phelan’s preferred policy does not increase the homestead exemption.
In remarks to the Texas Public Policy Foundation ’s summit today, Phelan said he’s not necessarily opposed to such a change. But “at a fixed value, with rising increases in appraisals, it'll be stagnant. It'll eventually go away. Some will never even see it. And again, it only applies to homesteads,” the Speaker said.
In a news release issued by his office, Phelan argued that runaway appraisals are the problem.
“Skyrocketing property taxes have become unaffordable for too many residents in this state, and I thank Representative Meyer for filing legislation that would bring real relief to Texas taxpayers by making much-needed improvements to the state’s appraisal system,” Phelan said. “This bill is a great building block for our state to continue to thrive, and I look forward to the Texas House passing House Bill 2 this legislative session.”
Speaking to the same TPPF conference, Lt. Gov. Patrick said Phelan was just wrong.
“I think the intentions of the House are good, but that would be a disaster and undo everything we’ve done,” Patrick said.
Longtime observers of Houston politics found Patrick’s objections to be curious. That’s because when he was first elected in Harris County to serve in the Texas Senate, Patrick made it his number one priority to slash the appraisal cap to three percent.
"I will never give up the battle to lower the cap,” Patrick said at the time. It had also been one of primary organizing principles when he was a radio talk show host before his entrance into state government.
"We must end the stealth 8-10% annual tax increase on homeowners," Patrick said on his Senate website as freshman. "If local governments feel a need to raise revenue, they should do so by raising the tax rate; not by hiding behind an automatic appraisal increase. Voters can then determine if the increase was necessary and if those elected officials are worthy of re-election.”