Texas Scorecard by Brandon Waltens June 27, 2019
An explanation by the Texas Education Agency about the reform reveals discrepancies between its actual effect and misleading news reports.In the final days of the recent Texas legislative session, a compromise was reached on legislation designed to provide “school finance reform†and property tax relief. But with explanations of the bill’s contents varying between lawmakers and media reports, Texas taxpayers are asking themselves what the bill actually does, and what type of property tax relief to expect?
The Texas Education Agency has published a detailed summary attempting to explain the effects of the legislation—House Bill 3—in various areas, including on property tax bills.
According to the TEA analysis, the bill provides for school property tax rate reduction or “compression†in the 2019 tax year. The impact will vary from district to district.
Experts at the Texas Public Policy Foundation have calculated the average rate cut to be seven cents per $100 of property valuation, via the state spending $5 billion to buy down school maintenance and operations tax rates. The TEA states the new “rollback†limit on tax revenue increases of 2.5 percent would go into effect in 2020.
Both changes differ from claims contained in promotional materials produced by Texas lawmakers.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/tea-clears-up-confusion-on-school-finance-reform-property-tax-relief-bill/
