HOUSTON, TX — Chair of the Senate Local Government Committee, Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), released the following statement last night after the passage of record homestead exemption Propositions 11 and 13, which he authored during the 89th Regular Legislative Session under Senate Bills 4 and 23, including authoring Proposition 10, which received the highest approval passage of all 17 constitutional amendments at 89% to exempt homes destroyed by fire. There are seven other tax-related measures passed by Texas voters in the Nov. 4, 2025 election:

“Last night, tax policy issues like Propositions 11 and 13 drove voter turnout in this election. Clearly, Propositions 11 and 13, which received a 77%+ and 79%+ supermajority of voter support respectively, increase the homestead exemption for all 5.7 million homesteads and as priorities of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, it’s no surprise they passed the Legislature unanimously.

These measures will provide much-needed school property tax cuts for Texas taxpayers. As author, coauthor, and sponsor of many of the tax-cut measures on the ballot, it’s great to see these common-sense constitutional amendments gain this kind of support from the public and I’m very happy that Texans again voted for record homestead exemption increases, and supported other bills authored by my Senate and House colleagues!

The bellwether local issue last night was Proposition Q, which lost two-to-one in the City of Austin, not surprisingly, since it would have resulted in a 20% property tax rate increase within just one year. Notably, the four major property tax exemption propositions got the highest voter rate approval, ranking above Proposition 16 in fifth place at 72%, which required citizenship to vote in Texas elections.”

Senator Bettencourt, who has long championed property-tax relief legislation and fiscal policy reforms to limit excessive taxation and ensure local-government accountability, emphasized that tonight’s results demonstrate the success of ongoing efforts by the Texas Legislature to strengthen the state’s economic foundation while protecting taxpayers. Once the election results are certified and the amendments officially proclaimed, Propositions 11 and 13 will take effect immediately for Property Tax Year 2025. Of the remaining tax-related amendments, Propositions 5, 7, 9, 10, and 17 apply to Tax Year 2026, while Propositions 2, 6, and 8 become effective upon certification (not earlier than 15 and not later than 30 days after Election Day) or on the date specified in the measure. Together, these amendments phase in over the next two tax years.

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