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Dissent from Texas Senate Republicans
Puts Abbott Property Tax Plan in Danger
Capitol Inside
November 24, 2025
Governor Greg Abbott faces an obstacle that could be insurmountable with opposition to a property tax abolishment plan that he apparently failed to anticipate from some state Senate Republicans who are high-level Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick allies.
Abbott was caught off guard late last week when State Senators Paul Bettencourt of Houston and Charles Perry of Lubbock criticized the governor's tax proposal at the annual meeting in Austin for the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association.
The governor's team has responded to the unexpected backlash by spreading the word that Abbott would work to defeat Republicans who defy him on property taxes like he did with some success after a dozen GOP members teamed up with Democrats to kill his school vouchers plan in special session in 2023. Abbott's revenge crusade led to the ouster of House Republicans who'd been allies - and it struck fear in those who survived in a chamber where the governor's school choice measure passed in the 2025 regular session without a single opposing vote from the majority party.
The governor sought to minimize the backlash from the senators' negative assessment on Thursday when he posted a copy of a letter from two dozen Republican state representatives who endorsed the proposal that Abbott has pitched as a burial ground for taxes on property in Texas even though it would only apply to school districts.
The letter was initiated by rookie Republican State Rep. Marc LaHood of San Antonio and featured signatures from 24 GOP representatives including 16 who are freshmen in the House. LaHood has been under attack from the big-giving Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC and a challenger who the group is backing in the race for the House District 121 seat in the GOP primary election in March.
"We, the undersigned, fully support Gov.
@GregAbbott_TX’s bold property tax plan & are ready to work!," according to the communique from LaHood and his colleagues. "We must put Texans first, ensure people are not forced out of their homes, reign in local spending, and foster the foundation of the American Dream—property ownership!"
Abbott has been TLR's most important ally during a stint as the governor that's spanned almost 11 years. But Abbott's threats of retribution may be a waste of time in the case of Republican senators if Patrick agrees that the elimination of property taxes for schools is an ill-advised course for the state to take.
The governor has made the property tax proposal the centerpiece issue of a campaign for re-election next year. But Patrick has called the shots on property tax relief at the Capitol in recent years - and the lieutenant governor has gotten almost everything he's wanted on that particular issue despite initial opposition to his proposals from some representatives on the House leadership team.
Abbott may be setting the property tax proposal up for a crash if he thinks he can persuade or badger Senate Republicans into breaking ranks with Patrick on this particular issue or any other subject that state lawmakers here tackle when they meet again in Austin in 2027.
Patrick has controlled the Senate with an iron and unforgiving fist - and Republicans who have defied him have been busted from committee chairs and chased out of the upper chamber in some cases with or without re-election bids.
The Abbott has a fundamental flaw that could make it all but impossible to pass. The proposal would have a price tag of $40 billion or more. But the governor hasn't offered a way to replace the revenues that Texas public school districts would lose with his plan. The only realistic possibility may be a dramatic hike in sales taxes that lawmakers would be forced to try to defend in re-election races.
more to come ...
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