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Summary: HJR 138 would allow local governments to adopt a local option homestead exemption expressed in a dollar-amount as an alternative to the percentage-based homestead exemption already permitted. HJR 138 states that a governing body may exempt a flat dollar amount of the market value of the residence of a married or unmarried adult, including an adult that lives alone, and that the amount of the flat dollar exemption may not be less than $5,000. HJR 138 also forbids the legislature from putting forth formulas that would protect school districts from revenue loss, and HJR 138’s provision would begin in 2014 and end 2015.
Analysis: HJR 138’s committee analysis suggests that “dollar-amount exemptions offer greater benefits to middle-income households than those from percentage-based exemptions and allow local governments to more easily compute revenue lost to the exemption.” HJR 138 provides a modest tax exemption to these property owners, effectively limiting the amount of revenue available to the government and protecting the property rights of these owners. We support HJR 138.