The Latest Breaking News from Paul Bettencourt

Proposition 4 could usher in a bevy of property tax changes. That includes using $12.7 billion from a record state budget surplus to lower school district taxes.

“I feel there were six senators who were ready to be the 21st vote,” said Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas. “But they didn’t want to be the 20th vote.”

Legislation passed this month would raise the state’s homestead exemption to $100,000, lower schools’ tax rates and put an appraisal cap on residential and commercial properties, among other measures. But voters must approve a constitutional amendment first.

At a time when the state has some of the nation’s highest property taxes, the initiative was a cornerstone of his 2022 reelection campaign.

Efforts to repair rifts, particularly among Republican leaders, begin as another contentious special session looms on Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for “school choice.”

House Democrats attempted to insert benefits for renters and more money for public education into the tax-cuts package in a series of floor amendments but were unsuccessful.

A stalemate among Texas’ top Republicans has dragged on for months. Tax-cut proponents in the House and Senate made their first pitches to end the impasse Wednesday.

Gov. Greg Abbott quickly called lawmakers back to the Capitol for round two, hoping to break an impasse that has outlasted the regular session and one overtime period.

As of June 18, members of the Texas State Legislature, which includes the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate, have passed 34 bills related to election administration since the beginning of the year. Of those 34 bills, legislators passed zero during the week of June 12-18.