There are two weeks left in the 86th legislative session, and lawmakers are scrambling to finish legislation they’ve been working on since January.
Ben Philpott is senior editor at KUT in Austin. He says the House and Senate continue to work on changes to property tax legislation, and aim to reduce taxes for Texas homeowners. But he says a so-called sales-tax/property-tax swap won’t be a part of it.
Philpott says instead of looking for new ways to raise tax revenue, the Senate wants to redirect existing tax revenue. That process would include applying money from oil and gas taxes – which would typically end up in the rainy day fund – toward property tax reductions.
What you’ll hear in this segment:
– How the legislature plans to cap the growth of local property tax revenue
– How the House and Senate still disagree about education funding
– How the tone of the session is different from that of 2017
Written by Shelly Brisbin.
