AUSTIN — All eyes are on the Texas Senate, as lawmakers on Thursday await the opportunity to debate priority legislation to overhaul property…
AUSTIN — All eyes are on the Texas Senate Thursday as lawmakers await the opportunity to debate priority legislation to overhaul property taxes across the state.
House Bill 2, a bill that would cap local government property tax growth at 2.5 percent a year, is scheduled for a marathon debate on the House floor. However, House members recessed in the middle of the day as word circulated around the Capitol that the Senate was mulling taking its own vote on their version of the bill Senate Bill 2.
For weeks, it seemed as though the House would have the easier path forward to passing the property tax bill, which is a priority of Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen.
But on Thursday morning, a key opponent of the bill in the Senate expressed that he was open to compromise.
Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, previously said he opposed a 2.5 percent property tax cap as written in Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 2. His opposition could prevent the bill from being debated on the Senate floor because of a requirement in the Senate that 19 members agree to hear a bill.
