Lt. Gov Dan Patrick not willing to negotiate with Texas House’s ‘bad math’ on property tax relief

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - With about a month left in the regular session of the Texas Legislature, there is tension among the state’s top leaders. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is at odds with House Speaker Dade Phelan over their dueling property tax relief plans.

“I can always compromise and work with the House Speaker on any issue as long as the facts are correct,” Patrick said in an interview with KLTV. “And in this case, we’re dealing with bad math on the House side.”

The Senate has passed a bill that would lower property taxes by increasing the homestead exemption, while the House’s plan would limit how much school districts can tax.

“It will destroy the market and does nothing for seniors,” Patrick said. “I’m just not going to negotiate money out of the pockets of Texans.”

So far, the Senate has approved 29 of Patrick’s 30 legislative priorities, while the House lags behind. The regular session will come to an end May 29. If priority bills like property tax relief and school vouchers fail to pass, Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to call a special session.

“We passed school choice out of the Senate twice,” Patrick said. “We’ve never ever gotten a hearing. We haven’t had a hearing yet in the House, but I’m very optimistic. I think maybe the House will actually pass the school choice program bill this year. If they don’t, the Governor has invested a lot of time traveling around the state so is he going to call us back for that issue for example?”

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