Abbott strikes down 76 bills as he addresses property tax relief

Texas Governor Greg Abbot has vetoed 77 bills passed by the Texas House and Senate during the 88th legislative session, many of which pertained to the ongoing battle of property taxes in Texas. The governor did sign the state’s two-year $321 billion budget. Sunday was the veto deadline.

Within 24 hours of the special session starting last month, both the Texas House and Senate passed bills to cut property taxes. After the House adjourned, the issue was in the court of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Senate. Patrick went on record saying, “Bottom line – if the homeowners don’t get their $100,000 exemption and the $1,200 to $1,400 tax cut every year for the rest of their lives, there will be no property tax cut for businesses.” The House and the Senate have been at odds over how to deliver the best property tax relief since the session began on May 29.

The House plan, supported by Abbott, aims to use tax compression to send money to school districts so they can lower taxes on all property owners of homes and businesses alike. The Senate plan, supported by Patrick, focuses on giving homeowners bigger breaks and bumping up the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000.

Abbott has said he would call “special session after special session until a solution is reached.” Abbott said he believes property tax reform should come first and other vetoed bills weren’t as important. Other vetoed bills included ones dealing with water conservation, and expanding protections against human trafficking.

The Texas Constitution grants the Governor 20 days after the end of a regular legislative session to veto bills passed by Congress. If not vetoed, those bills become law. The statewide record for most bills vetoed by a Texas Governor is held by former Gov. Rick Perry, who issued 83 vetoes during the 2001 legislative session.