Texans head to polls to vote on tax relief

Tax relief for Texas homeowners is riding on local elections.

April 25 was the first day of early voting for local elections throughout the state. In addition to a number of city and regional matters, Texans have the chance to vote on two proposals for state constitutional amendments that would give homeowners a break on their appraised property values — and thus, in most cases, their taxes.

The first proposition would reduce the property taxes elderly and disabled Texans pay for public schools. It corrects previous legislative mistakes to ensure those rates remain lower than those of other homeowners.

The second proposal is to lower the amount homeowners can knock off their appraised values – from $25,000 to $40,000 for the school-tax portion of their bills. The measure would cost the state more than $744 million from 2024 to 2026.

In both cases, the Texas Legislature says it will make up the money to school districts, although the ballot doesn’t make it clear how this will be done. Since Texas has no income taxes, local and regional entities rely heavily on income from property and sales taxes to pay their bills. School-district taxes usually make up most of homeowners’ property tax bills.

Because of rules specified within it, the Texas Constitution must be amended frequently for the state to make changes to laws. Both proposed amendments passed during special legislative sessions last year but were approved too late to make it onto last November’s ballot.

With many homeowners shocked by the spike in recently released property tax appraisals, the state could see more turnout than is usual for a local election. Early voting is April 25-May 3. Election Day is Saturday, May 7.