SINE DIE FAST APPROACHES

The Texas Legislative Session picks up the pace.

Legislative Update by GINA ERWIN, HAA Legislative Chair, with BRADLEY PEPPER, Vice President of Government Affairs

As the Legislative Session continues to march toward Sine Die (end of session) on May 29, the real work of the Texas House and Senate has begun in earnest. Committees are hearing bills in both the House and Senate daily and both chambers are in session for more days and longer hours each week.

The lack of progress and activity can be confusing as the session began back on January 10, but there are constitutional provisions that intentionally slow the legislative process down. Although members have 140 days to complete the business of the state, the only items that can be acted on within the first 60 days of the session are “emergency items” which are exclusively determined by the governor.

Now that we have passed that deadline, the pace of session has increased. Members began filing bills on November 14 and now that the March 10 bill filing deadline has passed, we know the full scope of the measures that have been filed and what to monitor and track for the remainder of the session. This year, members filed more than 7,850 bills, which is an alltime high and the most filed by more than 400 bills. That said, last session saw only 15% of filed bills become law.

While there are thousands of bills that will be considered, there is only one item that the Texas legislature must pass: The Budget. The budget is written to cover the biennium following that legislative session, in this case 2024-25. While both the House and Senate work together to craft a balanced budget (the Texas Constitution requires that the legislature pass a balanced budget), the chambers alternate the responsibility of introducing the bill each session.

With a historic budget surplus of more than $33 billion, the legislature will long debate the appropriate use for those dollars, but we can expect nearly half to be used for property tax relief. How they reach that property tax relief still remains to be seen.

The Texas House proposal would cut school district property taxes by 28%, as well as place an appraisal cap of 5% on both residential and commercial property. Currently, only a homeowner’s primary residence is eligible for an appraisal cap of 10%.

The House plan differs drastically from the Senate proposal, which would see Texans vote on the single largest ISD Property Tax Homestead Exemption increase in Texas history. If approved, the homestead exemption for their primary residence would increase from $40,000 to $70,000.

TAA/HAA Supported Legislation

While property taxes have a dramatic impact on the industry and continue to be a top priority in both TAA and HAA’s advocacy efforts, there are two pieces of legislation that we are actively pushing:

House Bill 2035 by Rep. Shelby Slawson/Senate Bill 986 by Senator Brandon Creighton

The eviction process should be uniform across Texas. A patchwork of local requirements creates confusion and unintended consequences. Justices of the Peace follow state law and court rules in eviction proceedings and cities have no defined role. However, some cities have recently tried to intervene by passing ordinances that prolong the process.

For example, the City of San Marcos currently has a 90-day notice before you can file an eviction. HB 2035 and SB 986 would prohibit cities from imposing their own notice requirements outside of state law.

House Bill 2457 by Rep. J.M. Lozano/Senate Bill 767 by Senator Tan Parker

City fees fund essential services but stakeholders – and sometimes even council members – are often not aware of new or increased fees until after they have been adopted. These bills would increase transparency when cities are considering increasing fees in city budgets.

They will require a fee schedule of new/ increased fees to be included on the city budget’s cover page —similar to requirements cities already meet when proposing new property tax rates. They will also require a separate vote by the city council to approve the use of the revenue raised by the new or increased fees and will allow interested parties to register for email notification about proposed new/ increased fees.

As these and other pieces of legislation progress through the session, members of the HAA Government Affairs team will be active in advocating in Austin on the issues that affect our industry and we will continue to keep HAA members updated.

HAA Had a Huge Day at the Capitol

Early on the morning of March 1, HAA members left Houston and made their way to Austin to participate in TAA’s Day at the Capitol. Each session, this special opportunity is offered for our members to meet and directly engage with our State Senators and Representatives on issues and legislation that affect the apartment industry.

Once in Austin, the day started with Comptroller Glenn Hegar addressing more than 200 apartment association members from around the state. Comptroller Hegar applauded the role that the industry plays in our state by providing not only housing, but jobs in the world’s ninth largest economy.

Following lunch, our groups made their way to the Capitol for an afternoon of meetings with our 46-member delegation. After successfully advocating on housing issues, including the bills mentioned above, we made our way back to Houston after a long and satisfying day.

The Day at the Capitol was a major success and HAA brought nearly half of the TAA’s total attendees. We received a lot of positive feedback from our delegation’s members and staff. Thank you to all that participated and see Pages 52 through 54 for photos from the event.

See you again in two years.