Proposed bill would save Bowie homeowners thousands

A bill that has bounced between both chambers of the Texas Legislature could save many Bowie County homeowners more than $100 a month if signed into law.

Senate Bill 26, which started as Senate Bill 1 and has seen several revisions, would increase the homestead exemption to $100,000 for homeowners younger than 65 and to $110,000 for homeowners older than 65.

The bill’s author, Houston Sen. Paul Bettencourt, said the legislation would give 5.72 million Texas homeowners a tax break between 39% and 44%.

The bill passed the Senate, but discussions over caps on appraisal values of homes have made a compromise difficult to reach between the two state legislative chambers.

“The original House version included compression and appraisal caps,” District 1 Rep. Gary Vandeaver said. “The original Senate version included compression and increased homestead exemption. The Senate made it clear that appraisal caps were unacceptable. The House then passed a version that contained all three but again, the Senate would not accept appraisal caps.”

District 1 includes Bowie County.

Despite the differences of opinions between the Senate and House on the bill, Vandeaver said he is confident the Legislature can push the bill through leading to a November general election referendum.

“There is absolutely still time for a bill to pass and be placed on the general election constitutional amendment referendum,” he said. “There is no limit on how many special sessions can be called, so between now and November, there should be enough time to get a bill passed.”

If passed, Texas voters would decide whether to adopt the new tax rate.

Bowie County Chief Appraiser Mike Brower said the bill would save local homeowners a good deal of money.

“They (homeowners) will see a substantial decrease in tax liability regardless of age,” Brower said. “My wife turned 65 last year, so I am tickled to death, and everyone over 65 should be tickled to death.”

Initially, the bill did not address homeowners over 65 who whose tax rates were frozen. Brower said it’s common for the Legislature to pass property tax bills and then return to amend legislation to include homeowners over the age of 65.

“Instead of getting it right the first time, the Legislature does it piecemeal,” he said.

Brower said the bill would provide relief for millions of Texas homeowners and the recent Senate bill is the best bill so far, but he does not agree with the 5% annual cap on appraisal value that was proposed in the House.

“You’ll never be able to get homes back to market value,” he said.

Vandeaver said he expects the governor will need to call another special session so that the state’s two legislative chambers could rectify issues regarding the legislation.

“With the clock ticking on the current special session, and no agreement on the method of tax relief in sight, it appears the governor will include property tax relief on the call of a future special session in the coming months,” he said.

Texas House of Representatives Speaker Dade Phelan appointed a select committee on property tax relief last week, according to Vandeaver.