The Texas Senate passed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s (TP-Houston) tax relief bill today. Patrick’s package would deliver a total of $4.63 billion in property and business tax reductions over the next two years. Whether it gains traction in the House is another story.  House GOP leaders have said they support at least $4 billion in tax relief, but the details of the House plan are still fuzzy at best.

Tax relief under the Senate’s plan is primarily based on a proposed constitutional amendment that would expand homestead exemptions from school taxes. The homestead exemption currently is a flat $15,000.  The amendment would fix it to 25 percent of the median home value in the state. The exemption would increase as the value of houses statewide goes up, and of course would go down in a declining real estate market.  It is estimated that the exemption would be about $33,000 in 2016 and save homeowners about $206.

Red certainly appreciates that $200 is a lot of money to a lot of folks out there, but many of them are  not homeowners and will get no relief from the bill.  Red’s property tax bill last year was almost $10,000.  The 2% reduction is appreciated but the money could be better spent educating our children, fixing our decrepit roads and bridges, providing health insurance for the disadvantaged and keeping our glorious state parks from falling into further disrepair.  But if the GOP doesn’t care about those problems, then neither will Red.  So when Red gets his $206, its off to Vegas.