Texas Senate Sends Property Tax Exemption To House

The Texas Senate on Thursday quickly and unanimously passed a pair of policies to expand a property tax exemption for homeowners to cushion homeowners from rising housing values.

Senate Bill 4, coupled with Senate Joint Resolution 2, would allow property owners to take $140,000 off of the value of their primary residence when they calculate school district property taxes, 40% more than the current exemption.

The joint resolution would revise the size of the exemption in the Texas constitution, which would require support from two-thirds of the Legislature and a majority vote from the public. Last session, policymakers successfully increased the exemption from $40,000 to $100,000.

The final vote on Senate Bill 4 was 30-0.

This is a developing story. It will be updated with more information.