House Adjourns Extraordinary Session #1
and Leaves All or Nothing Choice Behind
Capitol Inside
May 30, 2023
Speaker Dade Phelan adjourned the Texas Legislature's lower chamber sine die on Tuesday night after the House approved a pair of property tax reduction measures and a migrant smuggling bill in less than 30 minutes with no debate.
Phelan set the course for the rapid chain of events when he invalidated a competing Senate tax proposal on the grounds that it strayed beyond the bounds of Governor Greg Abbott's special session call. The Senate approved the plan in Senate Bill 1 earlier in the afternoon before Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick gave the chamber two days off before being instructed to return on Friday.
But Patrick didn't realize at the time that the Senate would be facing a take it or leave it ultimatum on its return with the property tax relief proposals in House Bill 1 and House Joint Resolution 1 as the only legislation that's still in play two days from now.
After staying on the sidelines in a bitter feud that spanned the entire regular session, Abbott praised the House for the swift work while agreeing with the speaker on the ruling that bounced SB 1 back to the east wing.
“The Texas House is the only chamber that passed a property tax cut bill that is germane to the special session that I called to provide Texans with property tax relief,” Abbott said in a statement on his web site. “It provides more cuts to property tax rates than any other proposal at this time. It is supported by the most respected tax think tank in the state, as well as more than 30 homeowner, consumer, and business groups across the state. I look forward to signing it when it reaches my desk."
Abbott sought to bring the warring chambers together with the composition of the call for "extraordinary session #1" narrowed in a way that eliminated a homestead exemption and appraisal cap cut as options in the wrangling on property taxes. Abbott ordered lawmakers to reduce property taxes "soley by reducing the school district maximum compressed tax rate" as the key to long-lasting tax relief.
Phelan had held out for a proposal that would bring the ceiling for residential and commercial appraisals down from 10 percent to 5 percent. Patrick - once the state's leading advocate for lower appraisal caps - has pressed for a homestead exemption increase to $100,000 for Texas homeowners. Neither side has shown any signs of blinking until the House deferred to the governor today and passed bills that rely on compressed rates after dropping the appraisal cap provision.
But Patrick and the Senate sought to push the envelope with Abbott with the addition of a homestead exemption hike to $100,000 to SB 1 along with compression language that the governor favored.
House leaders can expect Patrick to be furious and fight back despite the apparent newfound alliance between Phelan and the governor with his belated involvement in the fight. Patrick fired shots at Abbott and Phelan - saying in a tweet that the governor "seems misinformed about the roles of the executive and legislative branches of government."
Patrick said that Abbott "has finally shown his cards. He chooses to give homeowners 50% less of a tax cut, nearly $700 a year, to give corporations more. This is not what homeowners expected when they voted for him."
Patrick said the Senate would push forward despite the abrupt House exit this evening. "While the House may have thrown in the towel, the Senate continues to work. The Governor should feel free to expand the call to include other critical issues for our State," the lieutenant governor added.
Dan Patrick tweet May 30
"Governor Abbott released a statement this evening where he said, “The Texas House is the only chamber that passed a property tax cut bill that is germane to the special session that I called to provide Texans with property tax relief.” He seems misinformed about the roles of the executive and legislative branches of government. While the Governor has the sole authority to call the Legislature into Session, the Legislature writes the bills – the courts have been crystal clear on this. Governor Abbott has finally shown his cards. He chooses to give homeowners 50% less of a tax cut, nearly $700 a year, to give corporations more. This is not what homeowners expected when they voted for him. Both the House and Senate spend $17.6 billion for property tax relief. After giving lower tax rates to everyone through compression the Senate plan dedicates nearly $6 billion for homestead exemptions. That gives homeowners nearly $700 more than the Abbott plan. I'm shocked Governor Abbott is advocating for taking that additional $700 savings from homeowners and giving it to businesses. I stand by our bill. It is germane to the call – legal precedent is clear on this point. Something Governor Abbott and Speaker Phelan should remember -- for any bill to pass, it must go through both the House AND the Senate. While the House may have thrown in the towel, the Senate continues to work. The Governor should feel free to expand the call to include other critical issues for our State. #txlege |
