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May 5, 2015      12:18 PM

Sources: Patrick tells business groups he is doubling down on property taxes, has no interest in compromise with House

Meantime, business groups float compromise tax cut plans of their own

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the Senate is "doubling down" on property tax relief and in no way intends to bargain with Texas House leaders and find middle ground on the tax cut plans put forth by the two chambers, sources in the business lobby told Quorum Report on Tuesday.

The “property tax relief” contained in SB 1 – in the form of an increased homestead exemption – along with SB 1760 will amount to lasting property tax relief that Patrick is completely committed to, sources said. That bill passed by the Senate last week would, among other things, require a 60 percent threshold for passage of tax increases by local governments.

The Lt. Gov. has been holding stakeholder meetings and in one of those meetings on Monday, Patrick showed absolutely no interest in even talking about the House’s plan to cut sales taxes. That's according to one of the people familiar with the talks.

By Scott Braddock