Bill to Restrict Homeowners' Growing Property Taxes Debated in Texas House

AUSTIN — A panel of Texas House lawmakers on Tuesday got the ball rolling on one of Gov. Greg Abbott's top priorities of the special legislative session, a measure that aims to restrict local property tax growth.The House Ways and Means Committee debated a bill by Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, that would reduce the tax rate at which cities or counties would be forced to seek voter permission to increase property taxes. Currently, a so-called "rollback" election is triggered when the tax rate increases 8 percent. Bonnen's House Bill 4 would lower the rollback rate to 5 percent.It remained unclear whether the 11 members of the House committee would approve Bonnen's bill. They declined to approve a similar measure during the regular legislative session, one of the key issues that prompted Abbott to call lawmakers back for an overtime. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other Republican supporters have said the measure is critical for homeowners struggling to keep up with growing property taxes.  Continue reading...