AUSTIN – In recognition that average property tax bills that have risen 21.6 percent from 2013 to 2016, Collin County Commissioners stood up for hard-pressed taxpayers and passed a unanimous resolution in support of Senate Bill 2, the Texas Property Tax Reform & Relief Act of 2017. Collin County, the sixth largest county in Texas, joins Montgomery County as the second major Texas county to support property tax reform and relief. A hearing on SB 2 will be held in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, March 14. Public testimony will be welcome.
“The Collin County Commissioners Court unanimously supports Senate Bill 2 and wants to emphasize the fact that this bill won’t change the way we do business,” said Collin County Judge Keith Self, who will testify before the Senate Finance Committee in support of SB 2. “We will provide the necessary resources to our citizens.”
The Collin County resolution made its support for property tax reform and relief clear by stating that:
- SB 2, the Texas Property Tax Reform and Relief Act of 2017, seeks to instill transparency in the local government budgeting process,
- SB 2 requires, in addition, to the standard budgeting process, a local election be held if local budgets grow by more than four percent,
- SB 2 does not cap local government revenues of budgets,
- Collin County will continue to carefully guard taxpayer dollars through our normal budgeting process,
- Therefore, the members of the Collin County Commissioners Court give their support for SB 2.
“The Collin County Commissioners Court recognized the obvious that taxpayers cannot sustain property tax bills that grow on average 2⅓ times faster than their paychecks,” said Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), the principle author of SB 2. “I hope all taxing entities follow the lead of Collin County and stand up for hard pressed taxpayers who are just trying to stay in their homes or businesses.”
Senate Bill 2, the Property Tax Reform and Relief Act of 2017 seeks, among other things, to lower the rollback rate from 8 percent to 4 percent, schedules an automatic election if a taxing jurisdiction exceeds that, and brings transparency and simplification to the property tax and appraisal process in Texas.
Senator Van Taylor (R-Plano), a joint author of SB 2, commended Collin County’s unanimous vote for SB 2. “I am proud of my home county, the sixth largest in Texas, for its support of this important bill on property tax relief and reform. I look forward to hearing their testimony in favor of SB 2 at Tuesday’shearing.”
The public hearing of the Senate Finance Committee will be held on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, starting at 9:00 a.m. in the Texas Capitol Extension – Room E1.036. Public testimony on SB 2 is expected in the afternoon.
