Sen. Paul Bettencourt introduced SB 23, a bill on Education, Property Interests, and Taxation, to the Texas Senate on Tuesday, April 15 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.
More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’relating to an increase in the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district of the appraised value of the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled and the protection of school districts against certain losses in local revenue’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
This bill amends the Texas Tax Code to increase the ad valorem tax exemption for elderly or disabled homeowners from $40,000 to $60,000, contingent on the approval of a proposed constitutional amendment. It aims to provide additional state aid to school districts to compensate for any potential loss of revenue resulting from this increased exemption. For the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, districts will receive aid equivalent to the decrease in local revenue, and a similar mechanism will apply for the 2025-26 school year and beyond, assuming the constitutional amendment is ratified. The bill outlines procedures for calculating tax rates and issuing provisional tax bills to reflect these changes, expiring on various dates through 2027. The bill takes effect immediately upon receiving the necessary legislative approval, otherwise, it takes effect Sept. 1, 2025.
Paul Bettencourt, the chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government, proposed another 124 bills during the 89(R) legislative session. He is also a member of the Senate Committee on Committee of the Whole Senate, a member of the Senate Committee on Education K-16, a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, a member of the Senate Committee on State Affairs, and a member of the Senate Committee on Transportation.
Bettencourt graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS.
Paul Bettencourt is currently serving in the Texas State Senate, representing the state’s 7th Senate district. He replaced previous state senator Dan Patrick in 2015.
Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.
You can read more about the bills and other measures here.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| SB 3041 | 04/07/2025 | Relating to increasing the criminal penalties for insider trading and other misuse of official information |
| SB 3034 | 03/28/2025 | Relating to the designation of a portion of State Highway 249 in Grimes and Montgomery Counties as the Doug Pitcock Aggie Expressway |
| SB 38 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the eviction from real property of certain persons not entitled to enter, occupy, or remain in possession of the premises |
| SB 32 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of a portion of the appraised value of tangible personal property that is held or used for the production of income and a franchise tax credit for the payment of certain related ad valorem taxes |
| SB 3026 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates of a taxing unit and the manner in which a proposed ad valorem tax rate that exceeds the voter-approval tax rate is approved; making conforming changes |
| SB 2975 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to certain election practices and procedures; increasing a criminal penalty; providing an administrative penalty |
| SB 2974 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the enforcement of laws relating to elections |
| SB 2973 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the exemption from ad valorem taxation of property owned by certain nonprofit corporations and used to promote agriculture, support youth, and provide educational support in the community |
| SB 2963 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the authority of the attorney general to investigate violations of law by certain local governments and to take action against those local governments to enforce the law |
| SB 2951 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the authority of sheriffs and constables to enter into contracts to provide law enforcement services in certain counties and county financial authority in relation to sheriffs and constables in certain counties |
| SB 2859 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to a prohibition on the receipt of bond proceeds by persons who make a contribution to certain political committees |
| SB 2823 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the limitation of liability for certain highway, road, and street contractors and the presumption of sole causation by legally impaired drivers in certain civil actions |
| SB 2822 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the election of the board of trustees of certain school districts and the powers and duties of the board of trustees of school districts |
| SB 2821 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to contracts with and the acceptance of money from certain foreign sources by public schools and public institutions of higher education; providing civil penalties |
| SB 2820 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the number of polling places in certain counties |
| SB 2819 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the restrictions on political activities of a county elections administrator |
| SB 2818 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to training for peace officers on interacting with persons with autism spectrum disorder |
| SB 2817 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the designation of the portion of State Highway 249 in Montgomery County as the Paul P. Mendes Memorial Parkway |
| SB 2816 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the partial count of electronic voting system ballots |
| SB 2722 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the use of certain tolls and charges imposed by certain counties; authorizing a civil penalty |
| SB 2681 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the basis for a third-party challenge to a voter’s registration |
| SB 2680 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the public information law |
| SB 2679 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the funding of, contracting with, and employment for law enforcement agencies in certain counties |
| SB 2639 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the designation of a property as a historic landmark and the inclusion of a property in a historic district or similar preservation district by certain municipalities |
| SB 2541 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the calculation of the unused increment rate of a taxing unit |
| SB 2539 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the adoption of an ordinance issuing a tax increment bond by certain municipalities that have designated a tax increment reinvestment zone |
| SB 2538 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the plan required to be adopted by the board of directors of an appraisal district for periodically conducting certain reappraisal activities |
| SB 2537 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the limitation on the maximum compressed tax rate of a school district |
| SB 2529 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the vote required by the governing body of a taxing unit to adopt an ad valorem tax rate that exceeds the voter-approval tax rate or authorize the issuance of tax bonds |
| SB 2528 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the calculation of the petition election tax rate for certain taxing units and the ability of the voters to petition for an election to determine whether to reduce the ad valorem tax rate adopted by those taxing units to the petition election tax rate |
| SB 2523 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the release of an area from the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality by petition |
| SB 2522 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to municipal and county regulation of platting and subdivisions of land |
| SB 2521 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to notification of the chief appraiser of an appraisal district of the death of a resident of the county in which the district is located and the determination by the chief appraiser of the effect of the decedent’s death on the continued eligibility of any property in the county previously owned by the decedent for any exemption allowed for the property |
| SB 2520 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the calculation of the limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed by a school district on the residence homestead of an individual who is elderly or disabled |
| SB 2519 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to restrictions on the levy and use of certain ad valorem taxes and on the issuance of certain bonds supported by ad valorem taxes |
| SB 2518 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the authority of certain special districts and corporations created by certain special districts to exercise certain rights and powers outside district boundaries |
| SB 2516 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the court orders eligible for an interlocutory appeal |
| SB 2493 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the text of ballot propositions for bond elections |
| SB 2485 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the entities covered by the open meetings law and the live broadcast and archived recording of an open meeting of a governmental body |
| SB 2478 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to the vote required by the governing body of a political subdivision to adopt an ad valorem tax rate that exceeds the no-new-revenue tax rate or to authorize the issuance of tax bonds |
| SB 2477 | 03/13/2025 | Relating to certain municipal regulation of conversion of certain office buildings to mixed-use and multifamily residential occupancy |
| SB 2383 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to the employment of certain peace officers of the Department of Public Safety |
| SB 2382 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to requiring county use of the statewide computerized voter registration list |
| SB 2238 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to the authority of a county or municipality to prohibit or restrict the use of a certain mode of transportation on a roadway |
| SB 2237 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to severance pay for certain political subdivision employees |
| SB 2236 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to prohibiting certain preferences in a political subdivision contractor selection process |
| SB 2235 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to the authority of a political subdivision to impose a fee to fund a climate or environmental project |
| SB 2206 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to a franchise tax credit for, and the application of sales and use taxes to, certain research and development expenses |
| SB 2153 | 03/10/2025 | Relating to the membership of and qualifications for the Texas Lottery Commission |
| SB 2152 | 03/10/2025 | Relating to third-party software providers’ ability to manage certain users’ social media accounts |
