Sunday night, June 18, was the deadline for the Governor to veto legislation passed during the 88th Regular Session. When it was all said and done, he vetoed 76 bills, plus some line-items related to higher education funding in HB 1, the biennial budget. Statistically speaking, that means roughly 6% of all bills that ultimately passed the Legislature were vetoed.
Unfortunately, included in that list of 76 were several Texas REALTORS® priority bills, including SB 1668 (Hughes), the HOA reform legislation; and SB 1916 (Parker), the transparency bill to include public improvement district information on central appraisal district property tax websites.
Governor Abbott’s veto message for both those bills (along with many others), was justified with the following statement:
“While [this bill] is important, it is simply not as important as cutting property taxes. At this time, the legislature must concentrate on delivering property tax cuts to Texans. This bill can be reconsidered at a future special session only after property tax relief is passed.”
We are quite disappointed to see two pro-property owner – and pro-taxpayer – bills be vetoed for reasons unrelated to the merits of the legislation. Staff is developing short- and long-term strategies to work with Governor Abbott and the Legislature to find a quick pathway forward on these important items.
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