Conferees from both chambers met publicly for the first time on Tuesday, promising an amicable process that will lead to a strong state budget.
Five representatives, led by House Appropriations chair and Friendswood Representative Greg Bonnen, and five senators, led by Senate Finance Committee chair and Houston Senator Joan Huffman, will work to resolve the outstanding differences in their prospective budget proposals. By far the biggest issue is how to deliver $15 billion in property taxes out of the $32 billion surplus.
The House plan would cap home value appraisal growth, limiting the annual increase for any home to five percent, down from the current cap of 10 percent.
The Senate would do it by increasing the homestead exemption, allowing homeowners to deduct $70,000 of their property value prior to assessment, up from the current exemption of $40,000.
Additionally, Texans over 65, who make up about 40 percent of homeowners in the state, could write off an additional $30,000 of value, for a total of $100,000.
According to Houston Senator Paul Bettencourt, the architect behind the Senate property tax plan, this will save the average homeowner more than $600 a year and the average senior homeowner more than $1000 annually.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has said that the appraisal caps are a non-starter in the Senate. “When I came in, we focused on appraisal caps,” said Patrick at a March press conference touting the Senate’s property tax proposal.
Both chambers gave strong support to their respective proposals, unanimously in the Senate and 136-10 in the House, so budget conferees will have the full backing of their chambers as they push towards a compromise.
Time left in the session grows short and with a Memorial Day deadline looming, members must find a path that passes muster with both House and Senate leadership.
If they don’t, lawmakers could find themselves spending the summer in Austin continuing to debate the best way to deliver the largest property tax cut in state history.