By State Rep. Brooks Landgraf
Earlier this month Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced that the Texas Legislature would start the legislative session in 2023 with an estimated $32 billion budget surplus. This will be the largest budget surplus the Texas Legislature has ever encountered, and it is in part the result of the state’s oil and natural gas production taxes.
Now, the first draft of the Texas budget for 2024-2025 has been filed at the Capitol. The filing of this budget bill is just the start of a lengthy public process, but I’m proud to report that things are off to a good start.
I have not lost sight of the fact that every tax dollar received by the state is coming out of Texans’ pockets. And very importantly, the first draft of House Bill 1, which will eventually become the state’s budget for the next two years, clearly reflects the conservative priorities that I share with my fellow West Texans, specifically lowering taxes and strengthening border security.
The draft budget proposal includes what would be a record-breaking return of money to Texas taxpayers in the form of $15 billion for property tax relief, as well as a significant $4.6 billion investment to secure the border and fight drug smuggling and human trafficking through Operation Lone Star.
While I’m proud of the great start, there is obviously more to it than these items, and we have months of work to do to finalize and balance the budget. Throughout the process I will fight tooth and nail to make sure West Texas is prioritized in the way it deserves: we will get our fair share.
At the forefront will be the need to increase funding for public education, so that we can attract and retain the best teachers and keep our schools safe. And even though we’ve seen steady and significant increases in state spending on highways in the Permian Basin and West Texas, I’ll continue to beat the drum for transportation funding in our region. Furthermore, I will continue fighting to improve healthcare access in West Texas – whether that means funding for facilities like the Permian Basin Behavioral Health Center, or expanding broadband infrastructure to ensure rural Texans have access to telehealth services. There are other areas that need attention as well, but these are priorities you have emphasized to me.
That said, it is important to recognize that the budget surplus is more than the Texas Constitution and state law will allow the state to spend. Unlike other large states, Texas will balance its budget and live within our means. But the budget is not the only way that we keep government small here in Texas.
In 2019, I worked tirelessly to pass one of the largest property tax reforms in Texas history, known as SB 2. This bill prohibits school districts from increasing revenue collected from property taxpayers by more than 2.5% from year to year without getting approval from voters. Similarly, city and county governments cannot increase revenue collected from property taxpayers by more than 3.5% without voter approval.
During 2021, the Texas Legislature proposed two constitutional amendments that were adopted by Texans at the ballot box last year. One effectively allows for the tax ceiling for Texas homeowners who are disabled or at least 65 years old to be compressed and the other increased the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $25,000 to $40,000. I proudly supported both of these measures and look forward to continuing to explore every possible avenue available to reduce the tax burden on Texans.
This year the legislature has an excellent opportunity to continue building on those reforms and I remain committed to finding solutions that will provide long-lasting property tax relief. As the legislative session continues to unfold I will continue to fight for policies to lower taxes, limit the size of government and increase transparency.
God bless Texas!
