SENATE PROCEEDS WITH SESSION AGENDA, DESPITE HOUSE QUORUM BREAK

(AUSTIN) — The Senate on Wednesday moved forward on the governor’s special session agenda, though bills passed by the body can’t become law if the House members who broke quorum over the weekend don’t return in time. SB 9 by Houston Senator Paul Bettencourt, is intended to slow property tax growth by lowering the “voter approved rate” threshold. In 2019, the legislature lowered what was then called the rollback rate from eight percent to 3.5 percent for city and county levies and 2.5 percent for school property taxes. That means when a city council, commissioner’s court, or school board wants to raise taxes above that amount, they must get approval from the voters. It’s proven successful in lowering the rate of property tax growth, said Bettencourt. “That 2.5 percent has served us well over time, reducing property tax levies and therefore property tax bills for school taxes across the state,” he said. Growth in school taxes have dropped, he said, from 19 percent year-over-year to 3 percent since the 2019 reforms. The results have been less impressive for municipal levies. County taxes are up on average about a percent since 2019, and while cities did see a single percentage drop in annual tax increases, that’s far less than the drop in school tax growth. “The problem, simply put, is that city and county taxes are growing on average three times faster than school taxes,” said Bettencourt. In some places, he said, combined city and county assessments were higher than school taxes, which usually make up the majority of the property tax burden. SB 9 would lower the voter approved rate to 2.5 percent for cities and counties with populations greater than 75,000.

The Senate also approved SB 7 by Galveston Senator Mayes Middleton. The “Texas Women’s Privacy Act,” as it is titled, seeks to limit access to sex segregated spaces like abuse shelters, locker rooms, and bathrooms, to a person’s sex as listed on their birth certificate. This would bar transgender women from such spaces in all public buildings. “Women and children deserve safety, dignity, and privacy in spaces that are meant for them,” said Middleton. Political subdivisions that don’t abide by this law could face fines, starting at $5,000 for the first violation and rising to $25,000 for subsequent violations. Middleton said that entities can cure these fines by rectifying these policies within three days of assessment.

In committee Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee took up a bill that would replace the state’s STAAR exams with a series of exams intended to help gauge a student’s learning over the school year, rather than if they met grade-level standards by the end of the year. The new system, described in SB 8, also by Bettencourt, would consist of three exams, one at the beginning of the year, one during the middle of the year, and a final end of year exam. The exams would have to be substantially shorter than current STAAR testing, and the bill bans the administration of benchmark or practice exams, which would often take up valuable class time, according to state education commissioner Mike Morath. The results would also have to come back quickly - within 48 hours – so that teachers know where students are succeeding and failing and adjust their lesson plans accordingly. “It’s going to enable teachers to teach the students, and not ‘teach to the test’,” said Bettencourt. The new tests would be phased in for the 2027-2028 school year.

The outlook on these bills this session isn’t promising, as all bills must be approved by both chambers before heading to the governor’s desk for his signature. With no quorum in the House, no business can be transacted in that chamber. As it has in special sessions in 2021 and 2023, the Senate continued to pass legislation that was unlikely to be considered in the House, and will likely be the case for this and any additional called sessions. Abbott is empowered to call as many special sessions as he wants, and it is fairly likely that these bills will return for a second called session that will begin after this session concludes August 19th.

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