This Week In Austin
- The Senate passes the property tax relief bill – Senate Bill 4
- Speaker of the House names committee chairmen and members and RISD Rep. John Bryant is on the House Public Education committee
- Priority legislation was filed impacting public education
Texas Senate Passes SB 4 on Property Tax Relief with Bipartisan Support
Addressing one of the Governor & Lt. Governor’s priorities to reduce property taxes, SB 4 increases the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 saving the average Texas homeowner approximately $300 per year.
Voters must approve the increase in the homestead exemption, and SJR 2 (also passed by the Senate) is the enabling legislation that will provide voters with the option to approve (or oppose) the measure on the November 2025 General Election. All homeowners, even those over 65 who have had their taxes frozen, will benefit from the increased exemption.
House Speakers Names Committee Chairmen and Members
RISD House representatives committee assignments:
- John Bryant (D) – Pensions, Investments & Financial Services, Public Education
- Angie Chen Button (R) – Chair–Trade Workforce & Economic Development; member: House Administration, Ways & Means (also subcommittee on Property Tax Appraisals)
- Morgan Meyer (R) – Chair–Ways & Means; member: House Administration
- Ana-Maria Ramos (D) – Criminal Jurisprudence, Delivery of Government Efficiency
House Public Education Committee
Chair: Buckley, Brad (R)
Vice-Chair: Bernal, Diego (D)
Members: Allen, Alma (D), Ashby, Trent (R), Bryant, John (D), Cunningham, Charles (R), Dutton, Harold V. Jr. (D), Frank, James B. (R), Hinojosa, Gina (D), Hunter, Todd (R), Kerwin, Helen (R), Leach, Jeff (R), Leo Wilson, Terri (R), Schoolcraft, Alan (R), Talarico, James (D)
Permanent Standing Subcommittee on Academic and Career-Oriented Education
Chair: Ashby, Trent (R)
Vice Chair: Talarico, James (D)
Members: Hunter, Todd (R), Schoolcraft, Alan (R)
Priority Legislation Filed This Week That Impacts Public Education
- SB 10 – Relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms
- SB 11 – Relating to a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text in public schools
- SB 13 – Relating to a school district’s library materials and catalog, the creation of a local school library advisory councils, and parental rights regarding public school library catalogs and access by the parent’s child to library materials
Now that the House has committees in place, they will begin working on their priority items.
Next Week in Austin
- As of today, no bills have been set for hearings regarding education.
Remember:
- Speaker Burrows, in an effort to bring House members together (especially Republicans), appointed several Republicans who had supported his opponent for Speaker, as committee chairmen.
- Now that the House has organized their committees, we will see focus on their priorities (vouchers, property tax relief and hopefully school finance).
- It’s still early in the session, and many bills with significant impact to RISD have not been filed yet.
Legislative Corner will be published periodically throughout the 89th legislative session. For more information about RISD’s legislative involvement and priorities, please visit the legislative page here. Other resources include Texas Legislature Online (TLO) – find legislation (bills), committee hearings, legislative member info, and more; The Quorum Report – sign-up for “Daily Buzz” or a listing of political news articles; Texas Tribune – online daily news, also a data dashboard for education.
