Texas early voting ballot includes efforts to lower property taxes for homeowners and businesses

Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 20, for the Nov. 4th election. There are 17 propositions in all, with many of them involving reducing property taxes and changing the Texas Constitution.

Property tax Propositions

Among them is Proposition 13, and if approved by voters, the homestead exemption would increase from $100,000 to $140,000, set to take effect this year. This change would impact nearly 5.7 million Texas homeowners. Then there’s Proposition 11, which would increase the homestead exemption for people over 65 and the disabled to $200,000, affecting two million seniors.

Proposition 9 would boost the tax exemption for businesses on their equipment and inventory from $25,000 to $125,000. Other constitutional amendments include property tax reductions for the surviving spouses of veterans, for owners whose homes are destroyed by fire, and for property owners whose land is used for border security infrastructure.

Understanding the proposed changes

Republican Texas State Senator Paul Bettencourt of Houston wrote a majority of the tax bills. He tells CBS News Texas, “these are big cuts..These are all on top of, 2023’s record property tax relief bill that, cut property tax rates and for schools, and also increased the school exemption back then to $100,000. So we’re doing even more now, and there’s going to be some additional rate cuts as well.”

“There’s about 11 propositions that deal with taxes in one way or the other, 10 specifically for property taxes.”

When asked what Bettencourt would tell homeowners about seemingly continuously increased property taxes, he responded, “The first thing I say is that the quickest way to a property tax cut is to vote for the propositions that raise your homestead exemptions, because they’ll be with you the rest of your life.”

“Whether you’re, you know, under 65 or going over 65, it will just help you stay in your home. The whole concept of homestead exemptions, has been championed by Lieutenant Governor Patrick, with many bills that we passed, about 8 of them, to help with housing affordability. Because this is critical that we’re trying to set the tone from the state for the school homestead exemptions, because really what has to happen is the cities and the counties have to follow along, and they have to make their own independent votes.”

Other changes to the Texas Constitution

Other proposed amendments to the Constitution will ban taxes on capital gains, inheritance, and securities. There’s also a new water infrastructure fund that will provide $1 billion each year for the next 20 years to develop new water sources for Texas and fix leaky pipes and wastewater systems. Another ballot proposition would force state judges to deny bail in certain felony cases, including murder, indecency with a child, and aggravated assault.

School District propositions

A variety of school districts in North Texas are holding what’s called Voter Approved Tax Rate Elections or VATRE, which by law are considered property tax increases.

These districts include Carroll, HEB, Garland, Denton, Northwest, Bland, Rockwall, Crandall, and Peaster ISDs. Other school districts are holding bond elections.