FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2023
(512) 463-0107
michael.geary@senate.texas.gov
Otherwise, 5.72 million Texas Homeowners & 320K teachers receive none of the benefits in 2023
Austin, TX – Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), as primary author of the record $18 billion dollar Senate Property Tax Relief Plan, SB 1, once again passed unanimously onto the Texas House, explains the important tie-in to the Constitutional Amendment adding a previously passed Teacher Supplemental pay raise from the regular session to Senate Joint Resolution 1. After SB 1 & SJR 1 were passed out of the Senate Finance Committee 14-0, Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) offered an initial Amendment on additional teacher pay based upon a regular session bill by Senate Education Committee Chair, Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe). During floor discussions presided over by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R-Texas) and with the assistance of the Senate Finance Chair Joan Huffman (R-Houston), a perfecting Amendment to allow Supplemental Teacher Pay language to be voted on by the public in the November 7th, 2023, general election was added by unanimous co-authorship of the Texas Senate.
"Not only does the Senate Property Tax Plan contain a record $18 billion dollar property tax relief, it has a huge 100k Homestead Exemption proposed Constitutional Amendment in SJR 1 that must be voted on by the Public to get 5.72 Million Texas Homeowners the eye-popping savings of $1270 a year to $1487 a year on their school property tax bill this fall. Using nearly the same funding mechanism in 2023, an estimated $3.2 billion dollars of Supplemental Teacher Pay for the State's 320K full-time teachers MUST also pass the voters in November too!" Senator Bettencourt explained.
See the chart below for the expected Senate Plan SB 1 savings benefits for 5.72 Million Homeowners:
| SB 26 Homestead and Over 65/Disabled Property Tax Relief | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate Plan | Policy | Year 1 Relief | Year 2 Relief |
| c. | GAA SCP Decrease ($0.0939 cut in 2024, $0.1098 cut in 2025) | $273.51 | $319.52 |
| d. | MCR Reduction (10 cent cut in 2023-2024 school year, continuing) | $291.00 | $291.00 |
| f. | +$60k HE | $681.42 | $681.42 |
| g. | +$15k tax ceiling adjustment for May 2022 relief | $170.36 | $170.36 |
| h. | Lower CLR to $1.75% | $24.79 | $24.79 |
| Regular Homeowner Total (c+d+f+h) | $1270.72 | $1316.73 | |
| Over 65/Disabled Homeowner Total (c+d+f+g+h) | $1441.08 | $1487.09 | |
| Note 1: Calculations assume savings on a $331,000 homestead, and a total school district taxing rate of $1.1357 | |||
If approved by the voters, the Supplemental Teacher Pay is $2,000 for every full-time teacher. To help close the gap between urban and rural teachers, if a teacher teaches in a school district with less than 20,000 students, they will receive $6,000 through 2025. Chair Huffman stressed this provision expires in September of 2025.
"The key here, is that SJR 1 must pass the Texas House by early August, in time to get the combined Constitutional Proposition on the ballot in November. Without passage by that time, none of the benefits of an increased Homestead Exemption nor the Supplemental Teacher Pay will reach any of these nearly 6 million Texans in 2023." Concluded Senator Bettencourt.
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