House Delivers Property Tax Relief, Flood Control Support, Judiciary Modernization & More
AUSTIN, Texas — Speaker of the Texas House Dustin Burrows today issued the following statement after the House passed a series of legislative priorities on Governor Greg Abbott’s special session call, including improvements to the Texas judiciary, providing further property tax relief, safeguarding water security and property rights, and ensuring proper maintenance of flood control structures across Texas:
“The Texas House continues to work through the special session call by passing a range of priority legislation to make Texas a stronger, more prosperous, and fairer state. Today, we passed a series of key reforms to our state’s property tax system to better inform taxpayers and increase accountability for local governments when setting tax rates. The House also took bold action to keep up with the needs of our growing state, including establishing much-needed new courts to handle increasing judicial workloads, safeguarding continuing groundwater availability, and ensuring critical flood control infrastructure is able to keep Texans safe. I want to thank House members for their consideration of today’s important measures and our colleagues in the Senate for working with us to deliver these priorities and more to Governor Abbott’s desk.”
House Bill 16, by Representative Jeff Leach, provides needed support for improved efficiency and effectiveness of the Texas judiciary, establishing new courts, modernizing judicial administration and operations, and delivering additional resources to address judicial workloads.
House Bill 17, by Representative Morgan Meyer, increases transparency in the property tax rate setting process to ensure taxpayers are better informed about how property tax decisions are made by requiring notices be provided to taxpayers by taxing units and appraisal districts on a tax rate change.
House Bill 23, by Representative Sam Harless, adds clarity to existing limits on certain tax exemptions by codifying the property tax exemption for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo as a charitable nonprofit organization.
House Bill 27, by Representative Cody Harris, ensures clear and reliable scientific data is available to determine the sustainability of potential water pumping projects in the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District to preserve long-term groundwater availability in the region.
Senate Bill 10, by Representative Meyer, limits unchecked local spending without voter approval or input by lowering the threshold for property tax elections for a proposed tax rate increase.
Senate Bill 18, by Representative Stan Gerdes, addresses permitting delays that can hamper maintenance and rehabilitation of flood control structures, helping strengthen the long-term safety and reliability of Texas flood control infrastructure.