Patrick Portrays House Tax Chief as Pirate
after GOP Governor Hails Meyer as Author
Capitol Inside
February 12, 2024
GOP State Rep. Morgan Meyer of Dallas found the cost of Governor Greg Abbott's endorsement to be steep on Monday when Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick accused him of poaching credit that he does not deserve for the inclusion of a homestead exemption boost in a property tax reduction plan last year.
Patrick unleashed a scorching analysis of Meyer's role in the tax fight as the House sponsor in his role as the Ways & Means Committee chairman. Patrick, who'd only intervened in one House primary contest up to now, threw his support to GOP challenger Barry Wernick in the race for the House District 108 seat that Meyer is seeking again this year.
The lieutenant governor portrayed Meyer as an insurmountable roadblock to the homeowners break for the first half of 2023. Patrick said he was appalled by the House member's attempts to pirate credit from the measure's chief author - Republican State Senator Paul Bettencourt of Houston. Patrick said that he and Bettencourt co-wrote the bill.
"Morgan Meyer is not telling voters the truth about passing the $100,000 Homestead Exemption," Patrick said in an extensive post on X. "He tried killing it all session and did kill it for 8 months. The record is clear. The regular session and first special session ended without the House passing the Senate $100,000 Homestead Exemption.
"Now, Morgan is taking credit for leading on that issue as a reason to re-elect him," Patrick added. "That's deceitful and, quite frankly, disgusting."
Patrick received an assist from Brint Ryan - a wealthy Dallas tax executive who's been a major contributor to Republicans in Texas.
"Lt. Gov Patrick is telling the truth," Ryan said on Monday night on X. "As a tax expert and a constituent of Morgan Meyer, he wouldn’t listen to any tax advice. Meyer’s plan would have raised taxes over time and he worked behind the scenes against the homestead exemption, forcing multiple legislative sessions. The truth is Morgan had no idea how the tax system worked."
But Patrick's biggest beef may be with Abbott for trumpeting a narrative with Meyer as the author of the historic tax bill in an endorsement that he issued last week
“Representative Morgan Meyer is a staunch conversation fighter, who paved the way to ensure our booming economy remains the best in the nation,” Abbott said in an email. “As author of the historic property tax bill, Morgan worked closely with me to deliver the largest property tax cut in Texas history—with more than $18 billion going back into the pockets of hardworking Texans.
"I will need Morgan back in Austin to ensure we continue to further cut property taxes for all Texas families," Abbott said. "I encourage Texans from across House District 108 to join me in supporting Representative Morgan Meyer for re-election.”
Meyer served as the lead House sponsor on Senate Bill 2 in the second special session last summer after the House dropped its opposition to the homestead exemption increase that Patrick had championed while Speaker Dade Phelan's team held out for a cut in appraisal caps as the centerpiece of their own proposal in the regular session. Patrick vowed to kill any bill that contained the appraisal caps provision - and House leaders eventually gave up on that.
But Patrick was infuriated when the House wasted an entire month in a special session that began immediately after the regular session adjourned in May. The House convened in the first Texas special session of 2023 and adjourned later the same day after passing a property tax compression measure that Abbott endorsed hours earlier.
Patrick and Republican senators demanded that House members return to Austin to work on a compromise on taxes. But House leaders ignored the uproar and remained outside the Capitol City for 30 days before the second special session got under way.
Patrick appeared to get everything he wanted in terms of major issues that had been sticking points in the final draft of the bill that Abbott signed into law on July 22. The House took the homestead exemption and forgot about the appraisal caps at the heart of its plan earlier in the year.
Patrick said that Phelan replaced Meyer as the lead House negotiator at some point with GOP State Rep. Will Metcalf of Conroe. Patrick suggested that Metcalf was not as as obstinate.
"Morgan Meyer voted for it at the end only after he lost the fight to kill the $100K Homestead Exemption and had no choice," Patrick contended. "Barry Wernick is telling voters the truth on this issue. Morgan Meyer is not. Barry Wernick is a man of integrity who will never mislead his voters. Vote for Barry Wernick for HD 108."
Wernick faces a substantial funding disadvantage in HD 108 when Meyer has raised almost four times as much campaign cash and has close to a half-million dollars in the bank. Wernick's top donor so far has been the Texans United for a Conservative Majority - a new PAC that's funded by West Texas billionaires Tim Dunn of Midland and Farris Wilks of Cisco.
The group contributed $25,000 to Wernick in January. The Texans United for a Conservative Majority PAC spread nearly $500,000 around last month to House challengers including Kyle Biedermann of Fredericksburg, David Covey of Orange, Tom Glass of McDade, Andy Hopper of Decatur, Marc LaHood of San Antonio, Mitch Little of Lewisville, Shelley Luther of Sherman, Matt Morgan of Sugar Land, Brent Money of Greenville and Katrina Pierson of Rockwall. The group gave to Cheryl Bean of Fort Worth as well for an open House race.
Patrick is backing Covey in the House District 121 race where Phelan is on the defensive.
more to come ... |
