Governor Greg Abbott used a Tuesday event in Bullard to promote what he calls a “taxpayer empowerment” plan, a five-point package he says would slow local tax increases and deliver lasting property tax relief.
According to KWTX, which covered the June 30 appearance, Abbott told the crowd that “every Texan wants lower property taxes” and that “this plan gives Texans the power to make that a reality.”
The proposal centers on shifting control over tax increases from local governing bodies to voters. Abbott’s plan would require two-thirds voter approval before a local property tax increase could take effect, according to KWTX. It would also let residents force elections to cut existing rates: if 15 percent of registered voters in a jurisdiction sign a petition, they could trigger a rollback election. A third element would cap local spending growth at population plus inflation or 3.5 percent, whichever is lower.
The plan also targets the appraisal system that Abbott blames for eroding earlier relief. It calls for appraising properties once every five years rather than annually and lowering the homestead appraisal growth cap from 10 percent to 3 percent, according to KWTX.
Abbott would extend that 3 percent cap to all property, including rental and commercial real estate, arguing the change would help renters and businesses by limiting cost increases that get passed along. The final piece would ask voters, through a constitutional amendment, whether to eliminate school district property taxes for homeowners, which Abbott says make up the largest share of many Texans’ bills.
Abbott argued that rising appraisals and local increases are wiping out homeowner savings even after what he described as $51 billion in property tax relief delivered the last two legislative sessions. He was joined in Bullard by Senator Bryan Hughes and Representatives Daniel Alders, Jay Dean, Cody Harris, Cole Hefner and Joanne Shofner, along with Americans for Prosperity Texas State Director Genevieve Collins.
The push builds on relief already reaching homeowners this year. Under Proposition 13, the constitutional amendment voters approved in November 2025, the mandatory school district homestead exemption rose from $100,000 to $140,000 for the 2026 tax year. The Texas Comptroller estimates the higher exemption saves the average homeowner about $560 a year in school taxes, on top of savings from earlier rate compression. Homeowners 65 and older qualify for an additional $60,000 school exemption, bringing their total school-tax exemption to $200,000.
Not everyone shares Abbott’s confidence in the appraisal changes. The Texas Tribune reported in December 2025 that tax experts across the political spectrum view the appraisal cap as the riskiest part of the plan, warning that limiting appraisal growth can shift the tax burden toward newer and lower-value homes and distort the market. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who controls the Texas Senate, has resisted a stricter appraisal cap, a divide that would have to be bridged for the package to advance.
The timing sharpens the stakes. Most appraisal districts must certify their rolls by July 25, after which cities, counties, school districts and special districts calculate no-new-revenue and voter-approval rates and hold August hearings to set 2026 rates. Any taxing unit that adopts a rate above its voter-approval threshold triggers a November ratification election under the 2019 Senate Bill 2.
Abbott’s plan is aimed at the 90th Legislature, which convenes in January 2027. Whether it becomes law will depend on reconciling the governor’s appraisal cap with a skeptical Senate and any changes to the House makeup when lawmakers return to Austin.