Team Bettencourt, the official account for Texas State Senator Paul Bettencourt, has recently highlighted legislative developments related to disaster preparedness and property tax policy in Texas through a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter).
On July 14, 2025, Team Bettencourt posted: “The Senate Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding as Appointed by @LtGovTX @DanPatrick will make excellent recommendations to all Texans in conjunction with our Texas House Colleagues. Chair @electcharles, has a long history in Texas water related projects.” The statement refers to the ongoing work of the Senate Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding, which is tasked with making recommendations for disaster response and flood mitigation across the state. The committee is chaired by Charles Perry, who has an established background in water-related legislative efforts.
In another post dated July 15, 2025, Team Bettencourt addressed changes to property tax policy: “This will be the last summer, @TxTurf @JoeTalkShow, any Texas County can use the old 8% Property Tax Rollback to raise property tax bills using a disaster exemption, due to the passage of HB 30 in 2025 by Rep. @EllenTroxclair. (I was the Senate Sponsor.) HB 30 converts all this”. This message references House Bill 30 (HB 30), passed during the most recent legislative session. The bill eliminates counties’ ability to use an older provision allowing up to an eight percent increase in property taxes under a disaster exemption—a measure intended to prevent local governments from raising taxes beyond standard limits during emergencies.
On July 16, 2025, Team Bettencourt shared additional context regarding previous legislation: ” Here’s the original press release for full context on my SB 1427 (2021), which closes the “disaster declaration loophole” used to hike property taxes during emergencies to ensures taxpayer protections remain in place even during times of crisis. #txlege https://t.co/igETIGvvNO https://t.co/wFpMhjSjo2″. Senate Bill 1427 (SB 1427), authored by Senator Bettencourt and enacted in 2021, was designed to close what he described as a “disaster declaration loophole,” ensuring that emergency declarations cannot be used as justification for increasing property taxes without adequate taxpayer protections.
Senator Paul Bettencourt represents District 7 in Harris County and serves as chair of key committees addressing fiscal policy and disaster response. His recent posts reflect ongoing efforts within the Texas Legislature aimed at strengthening both taxpayer protections and statewide preparedness for natural disasters.
