Senator Paul Bettencourt’s SB 2 & SB 3 received unanimous support from the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Joan Huffman from Houston, with a resounding 14-0 vote. (Photo: PolitiFact)
Senator Paul Bettencourt’s $18B Property Tax Relief Plan
According to the Katy News, the $18 billion dollar Property Tax Relief Plan of Senator Paul Bettencourt, consisting of Senate Bills 2 and 3 (SB 2 & SB 3), earned unanimous approval in the Texas Senate.
This monumental achievement was made possible with the support of 30 co-authors and bipartisan backing, showcasing the broad consensus on the need for property tax relief.
After rigorous discussions and evaluations, Senator Paul Bettencourt’s SB 2 & SB 3 received unanimous support from the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Joan Huffman from Houston, with a resounding 14-0 vote.
The bipartisan support continued to flourish on the Senate floor, resulting in an overwhelming 31-0 vote in favor of the bills.
Senator Paul Bettencourt expressed his excitement over the historic moment, describing the $18 billion property tax relief bill as a “fantastic package” and highlighting that Texas stands alone as the sole state implementing such a substantial relief measure.
Senator Paul Bettencourt’s Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3
According to Texas Insider, Senator Paul Bettencourt’s Senate Bill 2 aims to ease the burden on Texas homeowners by increasing the homestead exemption to an impressive $100,000. This means that 5.72 million homeowners across the state will benefit from lower property tax bills, starting from the current year.
Furthermore, the bill implements $7 billion worth of Maintenance and Operations (M&O) property tax rate cuts of 23.8% on 10.7 cents.
Another crucial aspect of SB 2 is the introduction of a 20% circuit-breaker on appraised value increases for non-homesteaded real property valued at $5 million and under.
To enhance transparency and citizen representation, SB 2 proposes electing three county citizens to each County Appraisal District’s (CAD) board of directors in non-partisan positions. This change empowers the community to have a voice in decision-making and ensures fair representation for all.
Senator Paul Bettencourt’s Senate Bill 3 addresses the concerns of businesses by providing much-needed relief from franchise taxes. The bill doubles the franchise tax exemption to 2.47 million from 1.235 million, resulting in approximately 67,000 businesses being exempt from paying franchise taxes.
Additionally, SB 3 eliminates a “nuisance tax” for 1.7 million taxpayers who were previously filing no-tax-due forms for franchise taxes.
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