Governor Greg Abbott has announced a set of proposals addressing property taxes.
Abbott states in his press release the following details on each of his proposals:
Restraining the Growth of Property Taxes
Governor Abbott’s plan seeks to restrain the growth of property taxes by establishing a property tax revenue growth cap of 2.5 percent per year. Additionally, this plan will increase transparency by holding elected officials accountable and requiring them to vote on the reappraisal of districts, making them answerable to voters for increases in property taxes.
Require locally elected officials who oversee taxing districts to vote to increase property appraisals
In an effort to bring voters into the process and give them more power over their property taxes, Governor Abbott is proposing that locally elected officials who oversee these taxing districts be required to vote on any increase in appraisals. This will provide more transparency to the process, while ensuring elected leaders are held accountable to their constituents.
Local Debt
Texas has the second highest per capita local debt in the nation and this is one of the biggest drivers behind the increase in property taxes because property taxes are the primary source of revenue for local governments. Governor Abbott’s plan will also improve the transparency of local debt by requiring local governments to post their debt obligation online, require a two-thirds supermajority vote to approve the issuance of new local debt, prohibit debt from being used for non-specified purposes and restrict the use of certificates of obligation.
To read the full proposal: https://www.gregabbott.com/propertytaxes/
