AUSTIN – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued the following statement today upon the passage of Senate Bill 9, Cutting Property Taxes, by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston:

“In 2019, the Texas Legislature set strict limits on how much local governments and school districts could grow their property tax revenues, capping cities and counties at 3.5% and school districts at 2.5% unless voters approve a higher rate. This reform slowed the growth of local government revenues and property taxes across the state. Unfortunately, some local governments have exploited taxpayers for more revenue by raising taxes beyond the limits set by the Legislature.

“Senate Bill 9 further reduces the rollback rate for large cities and counties to 2.5%, ensuring out-of-control local governments cannot keep driving up Texans’ tax bills. This is another step taken by the Texas Senate to cut property taxes. During the regular session, the Texas Senate increased the homestead exemption to $140,000 for all homeowners, and $200,000 for seniors. This increase ensures that the average Texas senior homeowner will never pay school property taxes for the rest of their life. For non-senior homeowners, they will see a nearly 50% cut in their school taxes from what they paid 7 years ago on average.

“The House Democrats have fled the state, denying the House a quorum. The Texas Senate has maintained a quorum and continues to work. The Texas Senate will continue passing this critical taxpayer protection in every legislative session until House Democrats return from their ‘vacation’ and get back to work for the people of Texas.”

Senate Bill 9 caps the amount of maintenance and operations (M&O) property taxes that cities and counties with a population over 75,000 can collect from 3.5% growth compared to prior year to 2.5% growth.