The Second Called Session of the 88th Legislature began in earnest Wednesday, June 28, 2023, and the House and Senate wasted little time getting to work on property tax relief.   

Both the House and Senate passed the same property tax bills out of committee as they had during the first special session, voting them through the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee, respectively. The House then adjourned until Friday, while the Senate stayed and passed its bill, Senate Bill (SB) 1 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston), through the chamber on a unanimous vote.  

In addition to SB 1, the Senate passed Bettencourt’s Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 1,which is a constitutional amendment that would increase the homestead exemption. A floor amendment, offered by Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D–San Antonio), would give teachers a $2,000 one-time stipend with an additional $4,000 for  teachers in districts with less than 20,000 students. This amendment and the resolution passed the Senate unanimously. If passed by the House and signed by the governor, the proposal would have to be approved by voters in November.  

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), while presiding over the Senate Wednesday afternoon, stated that he had been texting Speaker Dade Phelan (R–Beaumont) and that they planned to meet next Wednesday in order to get a property tax bill passed. He expressed hope that the House would pass the Senate version of the bill.  

ATPE Government Relations Director Monty Exter, speaking with The Dallas Morning News, responded Wednesday to the passage of the Senate’s teacher compensation amendment with the following statement: “If they want to include as part of property-tax relief a one-time retention bonus for teachers, fantastic. We still need to have a conversation about meaningful, permanent increases to teacher pay.”