Constitutional Amendment Election Starts Today and Property Taxes

April 25, 2022

I know it felt like we just had an election, but we have another one starting today when voters will have the opportunity to vote on two potential amendments to our state constitution. Early voting runs from April 25th through May 3rd and election day itself is on May 7th.

Both of the amendments up for consideration for this election deal with reducing property taxes. The ballot language may seem confusing so here is my take on the amendments--I hope you will consider voting "FOR" these propositions as you cast your ballot! 

In plain English, Proposition 1 would lower the cap on taxable value ("freeze value") for seniors and those with disabilities. If it passes, it will lower school district tax bills for seniors and those with disabilities. Proposition 2 raises the homestead exemption for homeowners from $25K to $40K so that they pay taxes on a smaller amount of their value.

As a reminder, for amendment proposals to make it onto the ballot, they must first be approved in the form of a Joint Resolution by a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Texas Legislature. It is difficult to get the necessary votes to get an amendment on the ballot. As such, most amendments are fairly non-controversial and easily approved by voters.  

Both of the proposed constitutional amendments in this election were passed during the special sessions this past fall.

Additionally, I recently posted a fairly lengthy explainer on Facebook about why the huge increases in property appraisals do not mean commensurate huge increases in your property tax bills next year. We've included that post in the body of the newsletter below but the summary is this:

1. The appraised value is just the first step in a 5-6 step process to eventually determine your total tax bill.
2. Unless local taxing entities (county, city, school district) ask for voter approval, they WILL HAVE TO REDUCE TAX RATES substantially specifically because the values have gone up so much.

Please reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns on these or other topics.

May God bless you and your family,

Representative James B. Frank 

Tax Appraisals

I know that tax appraisals hit mailboxes this week and many in our area have seen eye-popping increases in their property values. That has led to many constituents calling our office concerned that this will mean a huge increase in their property tax bill. I want to share 2 comments to consider about your appraised value:

1. The appraised value is just the first step in a 5-6 step process to eventually determine your total tax bill.
2. Unless local taxing entities (county, city, school district) ask for voter approval, they WILL HAVE TO REDUCE TAX RATES substantially specifically because the values have gone up so much. 

Your property tax bill is made up of two parts (appraised taxable value and tax rate). Your value multiplied by your rate is the amount of revenue the taxing entity receives from you.

With the passage of SB 2 in 2019, school districts cannot increase REVENUE raised by more than 2.5% from year to year without asking voters. Cities and counties cannot increase REVENUE by more than 3.5% without voter approval. This means that if the average home in Wichita County increased in appraised value by 25% during the past year, then local governments will need to cut rates by over 20% unless they go to the voters for approval.

This doesn’t mean that your overall bill will not increase, just that it will not be nearly as bad as you might fear based strictly on your valuation. Also, remember that the caps are based on the aggregate--if your value increase is higher than average, your individual bill will likely be more. If it's a smaller increase, it might actually be less.

Again, the release of appraisal values is just the first step in a five-month process leading to our individual tax burden. Each local government entity (school district, city and county) will have hearings (usually in the summer) to discuss tax rate setting and each of these is open to the public and open for public comment. The adoption of rates will happen in conjunction with the adoption of budgets in late summer/early fall.

Finally, remember that the men and women making these decisions are all elected officials, accountable to voters. They are almost all property tax payers as well.

While the state does not collect property taxes, we do set the ground rules that the local entities must follow. To that end, we are happy to answer questions about the general process.

A great resource for all early voting information you could possibly need - identification required, check your registration status and where your polling places will be located.

www.votetexas.gov

STAY CONNECTED

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