Capitol Annex’s Press Room

[Press Release from State Rep. Mark Homer (D-Paris)]

AUSTIN – Rep. Mark Homer (D - Paris) yesterday voted in favor of House Bill 1, which will give $2.4 billion of state surplus funds back to the taxpayers of Texas in the form of property tax relief. Rep. Homer confirmed his vote for HB1 after an amendment by Rep. Charlie Geren (R - Fort Worth) offered provisions that maintained school funding equity.

“House Bill 1 provides meaningful property tax abatement to Northeast Texas homeowners,” Rep. Homer said. “I voted to put surplus funds the state collected back into the pockets of hard-working Texas families. One of my biggest goals for this special session was to cut property taxes for our homeowners, and I was proud to cast a vote that was able to do just  that.”

The House of Representatives also gave preliminary approval for House Bill 3, which passed by a narrow margin of 80 to 69. Homer voted against the legislation because he said it “failed to address the very real problems facing our schools and property owners in Texas.”

The initial purpose of House Bill 3 was “to expand and update the franchise tax, to better align it with today’s economy.” What the final product actually does is create an enormous new tax with no guarantee of permanent property tax cuts, no assurance against future increases, and no additional support for our schools.

“I have said from the beginning that I was going to Austin for the special session to provide a significant property tax reduction for our homeowners, protect the ability to further the advancement of our schools and schoolchildren, and implement a fair taxing system,” said Rep. Homer. ” House Bill 3 does not do any of these.”

“I walked into the capitol Monday morning fully prepared to vote for a restructuring of how we collect business taxes in Texas that would close loopholes and broaden the base with the assurance that the money raised would be used to further buy down property tax and lower the maintenance and operation cap from $1.50 to $1.30, essentially making it a tax swap,” said Rep. Homer. “However, as presented on the floor, House Bill 3 was purely and simply a tax bill.”

“That being the case, what the impact might be, could be, or should be is not my first concern. My primary focus is on what the law mandates. The only thing HB3 mandates is a tax increase. Any beneficial impact is speculative, not guaranteed by the legislature. Taxpayers and school children of Texas are entitled to greater certainty and better stewardship than this bill provides.”

The bill now goes to the Senate, where they will offer up their own amendments before the bill comes back to the House for review. Homer expressed his hope that the Senate will improve the legislation that will allow him to support it. Homer also stated that he hopes the Governor will expand the session  to pass public education improvements, including a teacher pay raise, restoring the health care stipend, and new textbooks.

“In the end, this special session is about three things: our children, our schools, and our taxpayers.”

For more information on this or any other issue, please contact Rep. Mark Homer at (512) 463-0650 or (903) 784-0977, e-mail him at mark.homer@house.state.tx.us, visit the State of Texas website at www.texasonline.com or  Rep. Homer’s personal site at  www.markhomer.com.