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Abbott Touts Pledge List for Tax Plan
with 42 State Reps and No Senators
Capitol Inside
December 29, 2025
Governor Greg Abbott sought to give a property tax elimination plan the appearance of momentum during the weekend when he released a list of 42 Texas House Republicans who've vowed to back a five-point proposal that he's pushing the next time they meet again in regular or special session.
"Thank you to everyone who has signed on to support our bold property tax reform plan," Abbott said in a post on his Texans for Abbott page on X. "Together, we will give Texans' control over their tax rates, hold local governments accountable, and keep the dream of home ownership alive for young Texans!"
The Abbott plan calls for "common sense" local spending limits, a two-thirds approval mandate for tax hikes, voter rollback provisions and appraisal restrictions with the most controversial aspect - the banning of property levies on homeowners to pay for public schools - as the pledge's final bullet point.
The number of Republican representatives on the governor's pledge list could be irrelevant in light of stiff opposition in the Texas Senate where Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and State Senator Paul Bettencourt have been the two most prominent critics. Patrick serves as the Senate president and views Bettencourt as a top lieutenant in his role as the Local Government Committee chairman.
The governor would need 76 votes in the House to keep the school tax repeal plan alive in the Capitol's west wing. But Abbott wasn't even halfway there with the list of "cosigners" that he touted on social media on the day after Christmas.
The names that Abbott advertised include three lawmakers who won't be members of the House in 2027 - GOP State Reps. Briscoe Cain of Deer Park, Sam Harless of Houston and David Cook of Mansfield. Cook is a candidate for the Senate in an open race while Cain runs for Congress. Harless is stepping down from the House without a re-election race in 2026.
So that brings the pledge count down to 39 with the possibility that two others on the list - State Reps. Denise Villalobos of Corpus Christi and Janie Lopez of San Benito - might not be back in 2027 in swing districts that will crown the Democrats' target chart on the House battlefield next year. That would knock the tally for promises on the tax package down to 37 if both are ousted next fall.
The list of legislators who signed on to the Abbott plan include 20 freshmen members who compiled conservative voting records in most cases during their debuts in 2025. A handful of committee chairs on Speaker Dustin Burrows' team - State Reps. Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City, Cody Harris of Palestine, Jeff Leach of Allen, Jared Patterson of Frisco and Cody Vasut of Angleton - appeared on the Abbott list of supporters in the House for his prized tax proposal.
The House has a current roster with 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats. The minority party thinks it has an excellent chance to flip a significant number of House seats a year from now as a consequence of President Donald Trump's sinking approval marks and the potential drain he could be for down-ballot candidates in the upcoming midterm vote.
Abbott would need 76 votes in the House for the lion's share of piece in the package he's designated as his re-election campaign signature paramount priority. But the governor might need a constitutional amendment that would require 100 votes in the Legislature's lower chamber. He would need a dozen House Democrats in his corner if he had all of the Republicans in the west wing based on the current ratio. The governor's pledge list contained 44 percent of the GOP representatives on the current roster.
But Abbott could have 100 percent of the House Republicans and still lose the fight if he can't find a way to bring Patrick and the Senate GOP members who march in lockstep with him on board for a dramatic policy change they say the state simply can't afford. He didn't have the name of a single Texas senator on the pledge list.
more to come ...
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