Texas Scorecard By Brandon Waltens March 11, 2026
Several Republicans currently serving in the Texas House—or expected to serve in the chamber in 2027—have not yet signed the pledge.Gov. Greg Abbott is continuing a series of “Taxpayer Empowerment” events across Texas to build support for his proposed overhaul of the state’s property tax system, urging lawmakers to sign a pledge backing the plan.
Abbott held one such event this week in Manor, where he appeared alongside State Reps. Stan Gerdes and Caroline Harris-Davila, as well as Genevieve Collins, the Texas director of Americans for Prosperity.
During the event, Abbott touted previous property tax relief efforts passed by lawmakers but argued they have not gone far enough.
“[One] thing that we will do … to ensure everybody in this room, everybody in the state of Texas, is going to be able to afford to stay in their home forever, is to drive a stake to the heart of property taxes in Texas,” said Abbott.
He noted that when he first became governor, the state’s homestead exemption was $15,000.
“The fact of the matter is, you needed more relief,” Abbott said. “After what we did last year, your homestead exemption is now the first $140,000 of your homestead you do not pay school district property taxes on.”
“But the fact of the matter is this—and that is exactly zero Texans have come up to me and said, ‘Governor, I’m perfectly happy with my property tax bill,’ because no one is.”
Abbott’s proposal includes several structural changes to the property tax system. Among them are limiting local government spending growth to the rate of population growth plus inflation or 3.5 percent—whichever is lower—requiring two-thirds voter approval for local property tax increases, and allowing taxpayers to trigger rollback elections with signatures from 15 percent of registered voters. The plan would also change the appraisal system by moving to five-year appraisal cycles and lowering the homestead appraisal cap from 10 percent to 3 percent while extending that cap to all property types.
Abbott has also called for a constitutional amendment allowing voters to eliminate school district property taxes for homeowners.
As part of the push, Abbott has circulated a pledge for lawmakers to sign committing to support the plan.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/abbott-presses-lawmakers-to-back-property-tax-relief-plan/
