(The Center Square) – The Texas House passed several legislative priorities on Monday. After more than 50 Democrats left Austin in protest of a congressional redistricting bill, which eventually passed, the House convened for a second special session 10 days ago.
Within one week, the House passed several bills identified as legislative priorities by Gov. Greg Abbott. The Texas Senate already passed nearly all legislative priorities within the first few days of the second special session, repassing bills it passed during the first special session.
“The Texas House continues to work through the special session call by passing a range of priority legislation to make Texas a stronger, more prosperous, and fairer state,” House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said. The House passed a series of key reforms to reduce property taxes, including creating a “system to better inform taxpayers and increase accountability for local governments when setting tax rates,” he said. The House also passed bills to establish “much-needed new courts to handle increasing judicial workloads,” as well as new safeguards for groundwater availability and critical flood control infrastructure.
The House nearly unanimously passed HB 16, filed by state Rep. Jeff Leach, a judicial omnibus bill. It establishes new courts, modernizes judicial administration and operations, and delivers additional resources to address judicial workloads. It heads to the Senate.
Notably, the bill establishes new judicial districts: the 490th (Brazoria County); the 492nd (Colorado and Lavaca counties); the 511th (Comal County); the 513th, 514th, 515th, 516th and 517th in Harris County and the 523rd (Montgomery County). The bill requires the 513th, 514th, 515th, 516th and 517th courts to give preference to civil cases and the 523rd to give preference to criminal cases. The bill also creates the 501st and 502nd judicial districts in Fort Bend County; the 503rd in Rockwall County; the 504th in Ellis County; and the 512th in Williamson County.
The bill establishes a district attorney for Maverick County and sets guidelines for county judge authority and salaries in several counties. It also creates a County Court of Law in Maverick County and creates a County Civil Court at Law No. 5 of Harris County.
The House also passed two property tax reform measures with mostly Democratic opposition.
It passed SB 10, filed by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, carried by Rep. Morgan Meyer in the House, to amend a 2019 property tax reform bill. It was filed after concerns were raised by taxpayers “that city councils and county commissioner’s courts routinely seek to increase property tax rates in tax years that the legislature provides significant school district property tax relief,” the bill analysis explains. “From 2019 to 2025, municipal and county property tax levies increased at faster rates than ISD property tax levies, with virtually no change in the number of municipal and county entities levying property taxes.”
While property owners and taxpayers saw reduced school district tax bills statewide, their municipal and county property tax bills skyrocketed. The bill addresses these concerns “by reducing the voter-approval tax rate multiplier primarily for counties and municipalities with populations above 30,000 from 3.5 percent to 2.5 percent.” It also amends current law related to the calculation of the voter-approval tax rate for certain taxing units.
It passed by a vote of 78-52, with primarily Democrats voting against it.
The House also passed HB 17, filed by Meyer, to require local taxing authorities to provide transparency in the property tax rate setting process. It passed by a vote of 83-48, with only Democrats voting against it.
The House also passed bills related to water conservation and flood control management.
It nearly unanimously passed HB 27, filed by Rep. Cody Harris, related to groundwater conservation in the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District.
It also unanimously passed SB 18, filed by state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, carried in the House by Rep. Stan Gerdes, to address permitting delays hampering flood control structure maintenance and rehabilitation.
The House also passed a bill that wasn’t on the special session call or listed as a legislative priority by Abbott: HB 23, filed by Rep. Sam Harless, to codify a property tax exemption for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Thirteen Republicans voted against it.
