Texas property taxes

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Senator Paul Bettencourt signaled potential friction with the House over the lower chamber’s proposal to use an appraisal cap to hold down property tax growth.

State tax systems are usually looked at as a three-legged stool — property taxes, sales taxes and personal income tax. In Texas, our “stool” only has two legs.

Texans pay some of the highest property taxes in the country, and listeners have a lot of thoughts about how that could be addressed. One unconventional idea we’ve heard: offsetting homeowners’ tax bills with revenue from legal weed. So, could that actually work?

Texas school districts, cities and counties rely heavily on property taxes to pay for roads, libraries, police, firefighters and public schools. But lowering tax bills has long been a difficult endeavor.

The bill would cap the increase in property tax revenues at 2.5 percent per year. Governor Greg Abbott has designated the measure an emergency item for the legislative session.

From the campaign trail to election night victory speeches to promises in the halls of the Texas Capitol, property taxes are the top priority for...