Gov. Greg Abbott visited Denton on Monday to sign three bills into law as part of a $10 billion property tax relief package.
"Do you think your property taxes are too high?" Abbott told the crowd in the clubhouse's Legacy Room. "So do I, and I'm going to sign three pieces of legislation that lower those taxes."
Abbott signed Senate Bills 4 and 23 and House Bill 9 in the Robson Ranch Clubhouse. All three are part of Republican lawmakers' efforts to bring tax relief statewide to homeowners, seniors and small business owners.
However, to go into effect, all three bills will require voter approval in the Nov. 4 constitutional amendment election.
Denton County Commissioner Dianne Edmondson introduced Abbott, who was seated behind a placard that said "Real property tax relief" and was surrounded by legislators and other leaders.
"We're absolutely delighted that the governor chose this location for the signing of HB 9, Senate Bill 23 and Senate Bill 4. Anybody got any idea why he chose Robson Ranch? There's a rumor going around that there's a lot of seniors that live here," Edmondson said to laughs.
Robson Ranch, a master-planned community for people 55 and older, sits in Edmondson's Precinct 4. She said Robson Ranch has "a strong voting group" with a higher-than-average share of registered voters who go to the polls on Election Day.
"So y'all come back any time, because we love voting for you," Edmondson said.
SB 4, written by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would increase the homestead exemption in school districts from $100,000 to $140,000. A release from Bettencourt's office said the increase would benefit all "5.7 million Texas homesteads with an estimated $363.00 in annual savings," based on the average tax rate for school districts around the state.
Abbott signed SB 4, then held up the bill, saying, "Your homestead exemption has now gone up to $140,000."
SB 4 also includes a hold-harmless clause for school districts, stating that Texas will make up any funding deficit a school district might incur as a result of this exemption increase using taxpayer money.
Asked how the state would make sure it wasn't going overboard on tax relief, Abbott cited Texas' "robust economy" with "the largest budget surplus of any state."
"But we've been cautious with our approach to our budget knowing there could be an economic downturn, there could be a recession," he said. "And so we have … $24 billion in our rainy day fund, and we have some other reserve money to make sure that we will be able to continue to maintain the property tax relief in the future that we provide today."
SB 23, also authored by Bettencourt, is set to increase the exemption for Texans over age 65 and those with disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000, in addition to SB 4's base exemption, which would bring the total exemption amount for those property owners to $200,000.
This is expected to save more than two million homeowners an average of $951 annually.
For those homeowners, Abbott said, "for the first $200,000 valuation of your home, there's not going to be any school property tax that you have to pay.
"The reality is … more than half of Texas seniors are not going to pay a school property tax at all after I sign this law," he said to applause and cheers.
HB 9, authored by state Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, is set to increase the business personal property exemption to $125,000. This change is expected to save small business owners an average of $2,500.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows said that by letting businesses "keep more of their hard-earned money, they're going to put that money into growing their business, hiring more employees, expanding. That is the type of capital they're going to get to keep that will be a stimulus, that will make our economy continue to hum."
Bettencourt, who was also present for Monday's bill signing, talked about the need for Texans to approve the measures on their ballots this fall.
"I want to thank everyone here that voted for this, and all those that will vote for it in November, because you get to do the ultimate choice — you get the chance to say yes to a $140,000 exemption on all your homes. Do I hear a dissenting vote?" he said jokingly. "I don't think I will."
Abbott said the need for a constitutional amendment election is part of leaders' vision.
"We know there will be generations of other leaders leading the state," Abbott said. "We want to make sure we do more than just pass a law for this session that could be overturned by majority next session. We want to make sure that we pass laws that are enduring, that would require two-thirds votes, which mathematically would mean as it concerns increasing of tax, not in the lifetime of anybody in this room are you going to get two-thirds vote to increase a tax."
Toward the end of the event, the governor addressed a question about one of the other bills awaiting his signature, Senate Bill 3, which is set to ban all consumable products containing THC. Businesses that sell hemp-derived products in Denton and around the state are worried they will be "financially decimated" by the ban, as one Denton business owner put it.
"I've got a thousand of these on my desk that I have to get through," Abbott said, holding up a bill, "and I haven't gotten to SB 3 yet, so I can't tell you what the factors are. Let me tell you this. There are meaningful positions and concerns on both sides of the issue, and I'll look into all of those and evaluate all of those."
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