Constitutional Amendment Election Starts Today and Property Taxes April 25, 2022
I know it felt like we just had an election, but we have another one starting today when voters will have the opportunity to vote on two potential amendments to our state constitution. Early voting runs from April 25th through May 3rd and election day itself is on May 7th.
Both of the amendments up for consideration for this election deal with reducing property taxes. The ballot language may seem confusing so here is my take on the amendments–I hope you will consider voting “FOR” these propositions as you cast your ballot!
In plain English, Proposition 1 would lower the cap on taxable value (“freeze value”) for seniors and those with disabilities. If it passes, it will lower school district tax bills for seniors and those with disabilities. Proposition 2 raises the homestead exemption for homeowners from $25K to $40K so that they pay taxes on a smaller amount of their value.
As a reminder, for amendment proposals to make it onto the ballot, they must first be approved in the form of a Joint Resolution by a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Texas Legislature. It is difficult to get the necessary votes to get an amendment on the ballot. As such, most amendments are fairly non-controversial and easily approved by voters.
Both of the proposed constitutional amendments in this election were passed during the special sessions this past fall.
Additionally, I recently posted a fairly lengthy explainer on Facebook about why the huge increases in property appraisals do not mean commensurate huge increases in your property tax bills next year. We’ve included that post in the body of the newsletter below but the summary is this:
- The appraised value is just the first step in a 5-6 step process to eventually determine your total tax bill.
- Unless local taxing entities (county, city, school district) ask for voter approval, they WILL HAVE TO REDUCE TAX RATES substantially specifically because the values have gone up so much.
Please reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns on these or other topics.
