Texas voters approve constitutional amendments aimed at slowing property tax growth, per early returns

Texas voters on Saturday approved two constitutional amendments aimed at slowing the growth of property taxes, according to early returns that showed the measures passing overwhelmingly. The amendments will provide property tax relief to seniors and disabled homeowners and raise the state’s homestead exemption for school property taxes. Both amendments were passed by the Legislature last year and required statewide approval before taking effect. With more than half of statewide polling locations reporting, both measures had received at least 85 percent approval, according to results posted by the Texas Secretary of State’s Office. In Harris County, more than 80 percent of ballots cast early and by mail supported the amendments.

Proposition 1 extends the Legislature’s 2019 cuts on school property tax rates to elderly and disabled homeowners, providing a rare decrease in their annual bills. Under the Texas Constitution, school property taxes for most property owners are frozen at the amount they paid upon turning 65, while homeowners with disabilities receive the same benefit when they buy a new property. Though that provision leaves many senior and disabled homeowners with lower tax bills than some of their neighbors, it also means they did not directly benefit from the tax relief provided by the 2019 measure, as their tax bills were already frozen. The 2019 property tax measure caps the amount of year-to-year revenue school districts can collect. With home values skyrocketing across Texas, most districts have had to reduce their tax rates each year to remain within the revenue cap. By 2023, when Proposition 1 is set to take effect, those whose taxable property values are locked in place by existing laws would have their taxes “unfrozen” each year, allowing them to benefit from the lower property tax rates. The taxes would then be “refrozen,” said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the Houston Republican who authored the measure. Proposition 2 allows property owners to shave $40,000 off the taxable value of their home, an increase of $15,000 from the existing school district homestead exemption. Bettencourt, who also authored this amendment, estimates that raising the homestead exemption would save homeowners about $176 a year.