Gov. Greg Abbott triumphantly delivered his top campaign promise to voters Wednesday when he signed into law a bill — detested by city and county leaders — that caps how much local government can collect in property taxes.
Abbott was flanked by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, as well as several lawmakers from the House and Senate, as he said the law creates “substantial property tax relief” and “lasting, meaningful, tangible results” for homeowners and businesses.
Abbott said the law works in tandem with a landmark school finance bill he signed Tuesday that provides $5 billion in state funds to schools to help buy down local school property taxes. That bill, Abbott said, would lower property taxes by an average of 5% the first year and 10% the second year. Some have raised questions about the bill’s long-term viability because the Legislature must come back in 2021 to fund further years.
“Our goal in passing SB 2 is to ensure that the benefits of the property tax buydown that I signed yesterday will be felt by businesses like this and by homeowners across the state of Texas for years to come,” he said as he signed the law at Wally’s Burger Express, a family-owned restaurant in Austin.