Republican lawmakers in Texas are looking to spend millions in property relief funds to give $525 worth of individual checks, but who would receive them?
Because of the pandemic, recovery has been slow and Texas faced pressure to provide some form of property tax relief this year. However, critics say that the proposal is perfectly timed to the November elections.
The checks would arrive no later than Sept. 1 — about a month before voters head to the polls next year for early voting in the November midterm elections.
This specific program would be called the “property tax relief” which would put $525 checks in the mailboxes of some 5.7 million homeowners who claim a homestead exemption — by tapping $3 billion sent to the state under the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill aimed at pandemic relief.
Gov. Greg Abbott added property tax relief to the third special session agenda in September — after primary challenger Don Huffines, a former state senator, blasted Abbott for initially leaving it off the table. Abbott had included it in previous sessions this year, but nothing passed.
House lawmakers have justified the use of federal relief money, saying their plan addresses “negative economic impacts” resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic “including assistance to households.”
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But not all Texans are homeowners, and a third of the Texan population are renters.
“None of this $3 billion would go to the one-third of Texans who rent,” said state Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, said during debate on the House floor Not a penny.”
However, state Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston, said that Texan renters have already been taken care of due to the federal stimulus aid.
A homeowner whose property is worth $300,000, the median value of a Texas home, would see $200 in temporary tax relief under the Senate proposal — although that could still change depending on how much the Texas economy grows by next June.
Keep up with more news here at the East County Gazette.