Two Texas legislative bills, aimed at raising the state property tax Homestead Exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, have been passed by a state Senate committee and will now go up for a vote by the full Senate.

The Senate Committee on Local Government on Tuesday unanimously passed Senate Bill 4 (SB4) and Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR2), both measures working together to bring the Homestead Exemption to a record level, with the potential to save the average taxpayer up to $500 a year in homeowner taxes.

State Senator Paul Bettencourt is chairman of the local government committee, and he commented after Tuesday's vote that, "by following up on the largest, grandest, hugest property tax reduction in American history, $22.7 Billion to be exact, SB 4 and SJR 2 provide more meaningful reduction to Texas homeowners by raising the Homestead Exemption to $140k.

“My office estimated $363.44 in annual school property tax savings for the average Texas homestead based on a statewide Independent School District (ISD) average tax rate of $0.9086, but wait, we’re not done yet! When combined with the savings from SB 4 and SJR 2 the total estimated annual tax reduction for Texas homeowners amounts to nearly $496.57!"

Senate Bill 4 includes a "hold-harmless provision," guaranteeing that the state will fully cover any ISD funding shortfalls resulting from the exemption increase.

The probability of the two bills passing the full senate is quite high; the property tax issue is one of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick's top priorities for this legislative session.

Once the Senate Floor passes SB4 and SJR 2, they will move on to the Texas House of Representatives, where they will likely meet opposition from state Democrats.