Gov. Abbott admits it may take more than one special session to pass property tax relief
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Governor Greg Abbott acknowledged property tax relief may not pass during the first special session.
But he said he will continue to work with lawmakers to come to some sort of agreement, even if it means more special sessions.
The House passed what Abbott wants, but Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said the Senate has the better plan.
When Gov. Abbott called lawmakers back to Austin, he wanted them to pass a bill on property tax relief.
Gov. Abbott says he'll call multiple special sessions to address property taxes, school funding and more
Gov. Greg Abbott said he has a long list of bills he will be signing into law. But there are several critical measures the lawmakers still need to address
On Friday, the governor acknowledged that an agreement may be tough to come by.
"Property taxes is so important. We will get it taken care of before we go onto other issues to make sure we address everything. But we may be here a while," he said.
Earlier this week, the Senate then unanimously passed SB1, their version of a property tax bill increasing the homestead exemption.
The House blocked the Senate version and unanimously passed its own, which lowers how much property owners would pay school districts.
Special Session: Texas House adjourns after passing property tax bill
The Texas House adjourned after quickly passing a property tax bill. That essentially means the Texas Senate – led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick – must accept the bill as-is, or Gov. Greg Abbott will have to call another special session.
The House version has the governor’s endorsement.
Friday, the Senate met again, but didn’t even acknowledge the bill the House passed.
The Senate’s leader, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, spent much of the day criticizing the House bill on Twitter, saying the Senate plan is permanent and the House plan is not.
Patrick also said his plan will save Texans more money.
It’s similar to statements Patrick made on Tuesday, where he accused the governor of giving a smaller tax break to homeowners in favor of corporations.
"This should be easy. It's three Republican leaders. It should be easy. I shouldn't need to take Tylenol three times a day. It should be easy," Patrick said. "The governor can put on the call. He doesn't write legislation."
Meanwhile, the governor acknowledged this may be a long summer in Austin, hinting there will be more special sessions on the way.
"I will never relent. I will never give up. We will have a special session coming up after we get property tax reform fixed, where we will dive into and work on and pass school choice in the state of Texas," Abbot said.
The Senate will get back to work Tuesday.