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As legislative leaders quarrel over some of the session’s biggest issues, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has taken to flashing two wads of cash in a series of TV interviews: $1,060 in one hand and $800 in the other.
According to him, Texas homeowners can anticipate these yearly savings as a result of the Texas Senate’s proposed strategy to manage property tax growth. It is crucial to note that only the Senate plan would offer these savings, with a higher amount for homeowners aged 65 and above, and a lower amount for everyone else.
During a recent TV interview, Patrick expressed his disagreement with the House bill, stating, “The math behind it is simply incorrect.” He went on to highlight the benefits of the Senate bill, specifically addressing seniors by saying, “If you’re a senior watching, our bill ensures that you receive $1,060 annually as long as you homestead your home from the age of 65 onwards.”
The ongoing rivalry between the House and the Senate is a common occurrence, especially as the legislative session nears its end and the fate of each chamber’s legislative agenda remains uncertain.
This session, however, the bad blood has started early with Patrick attacking House Speaker Dade Phelan by name, deriding the Beaumont Republican as “California Dade” and mocking the House’s property tax plan as “bad math” to put public pressure on the House to pass the Senate’s version of the bill.
In the midst of his media frenzy, Patrick strategically utilized props to convey his political threats. He made it abundantly clear that he possesses the power to compel a special legislative session if progress on his key bills, such as promoting the construction of additional natural gas plants and enabling the use of state funds for private school education, comes to a halt.
“I can’t call a special session,” Patrick told Spectrum TV host Karina Kling in mid-April, noting that power rests solely with Gov Greg Abbott. “But I can create one by not passing a key bill that has to pass. That’s what I did in ‘17.”
The recent threat indicates that tensions are beginning to rise between the two legislative chambers due to significant disagreements in policymaking, as the legislative session nears its end in just over a month on Memorial Day.
Patrick, an unwavering conservative, has praised the Senate’s approval of all 30 bills that he prioritized, asserting that they embody the chamber’s “most robust and conservative agenda to date.” This comprehensive list encompasses measures aimed at restricting medical interventions for transgender minors, eliminating tenure and initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in public universities. Additionally, it includes a proposal advocating for “school choice,” which would enable parents to utilize state funds to enroll their children in private schools. Critics argue that this approach could detrimentally impact the funding of the state’s public education system.
Patrick complained that not only has the House been slow to act on Senate priorities, but it has also been moving slowly on House bills. He warned that unless the House speeds up the process of sending legislation to the upper chamber, some of those bills will perish before they can even be considered.
“Sending that many bills that late means most will die due to the clock,” Patrick said on social media. “Not our fault. Help us help you.”
Phelan has adopted a more diplomatic strategy, minimizing the conflicts between the chambers and emphasizing the successful legislation passed by the House. In a statement released on Tuesday, Phelan highlighted the House’s accomplishment in approving a fiscally responsible state budget that includes significant investments in various sectors like infrastructure and higher education. He also mentioned bills aimed at enhancing child safety in schools and online, along with the introduction of legislation to implement the biggest property tax reduction in the history of Texas.
Phelan expressed that there is still work ahead of them. He stated that the Texas House will persist in enacting laws that maintain Texas as the prime destination for living, working, and nurturing a family. Additionally, he eagerly anticipated collaborating with the Texas Senate to successfully complete their tasks in the 88th regular session.
Phelan has also tried to deflect Patrick’s attacks with humor, tweeting a shirtless picture of himself standing between two surfboards earlier Tuesday.
“Excited for some awesome waves on the Texas Coast this summer after #txlege wraps up its eventful Sine Die!” Phelan tweeted, playfully referring to the California Dade nickname and joking about his post-session plans.
There’s already talk of a special session
Phelan, a Republican with a focus on business, has a diverse set of priorities. These include extending Medicaid eligibility for low-income mothers up to one year, establishing a state border protection unit, and implementing a state tax-break program aimed at attracting major corporations to invest in Texas.
Texas GOP officials have sharply criticized the House speaker for not embracing the hot button topics that dominate Patrick’s list, making Phelan’s list lighter on such issues.
The chair of the Republican Party of Texas, Matt Rinaldi, expressed his concern over the House’s failure to address several key priorities of the party.
Rinaldi praised the Senate’s outstanding session, highlighting their dedication to advancing Republican priorities and addressing the concerns of Republican members. Rinaldi expressed hope that the House would follow suit and pass the legislation forwarded by the Senate.
Rinaldi said he would support Gov. Greg Abbott calling a special session if bills to ban medical treatments for transgender kids do not pass because the House did not have time to consider them.
Rinaldi expressed his belief that the governor needs to clearly state the consequences of not passing crucial priority legislation, such as school choice and child gender modification bans. He suggested that the governor should call special sessions repeatedly until these bills are successfully passed.
Patrick has forced a special session before. In 2017, he withheld a vote on must-pass legislation — a “sunset” bill that would have kept several state agencies from closing, including the Texas Medical Board — after the House declined to act on the so-called “bathroom bill,” which would have limited where transgender people could go to the bathroom, and the chambers hit a stalemate on efforts to cap the rate of property tax growth. Neither effort passed in the ensuing special session.
Patrick, just like today, vehemently criticized the House’s leader at that time, Joe Straus of San Antonio, for obstructing special session votes on his favored policies such as private school vouchers and the reduction of funds allocated to Planned Parenthood.
Patrick expressed relief at the moment, saying, “I’m grateful that Travis didn’t possess the speaker during the events at the Alamo. Otherwise, he would have been the earliest to ascend over the wall.”
The tense relationship between legislative leaders continued after Phelan took over the speaker’s gavel in 2021. During that session, Democrats walked out of the House in the final days of the legislative session to end debate on a controversial elections bill that GOP officials had prioritized. Patrick criticized Phelan for managing the chamber’s calendar poorly and “kowtowing with Democrats” to thwart conservative legislation. (The election bill ultimately passed, though it took two special sessions.)
Later that year, Patrick was behind an attack on Phelan by former President Donald Trump, a Patrick ally, that urged Phelan to pass an election audit bill in the House or face a primary challenger.
Despite their ongoing animosity, Patrick continues to mock Phelan as “California Dade” for advocating a stricter appraisal cap. This suggestion closely resembles a policy enacted by the California legislature and supported by the state’s voters in 1978. Patrick argues that this approach has failed to address California’s affordability issue. It is worth noting that Texas implemented a 10% annual appraisal cap on a property’s taxable value in 1997.
“In a recent interview, Patrick expressed his desire for a California tax plan, stating that California Dade is in need of it.”
Phelan and Patrick have similar priorities in certain areas. They both have proposed bills to address concerns regarding district attorneys and local judges, with Republican majorities alleging negligence in enforcing specific crimes or being lenient with bail regulations. Additionally, they have introduced bills in their respective chambers to prohibit sexually explicit books in school libraries and enhance school safety measures following the tragic Uvalde school shooting in May, which resulted in the loss of 19 children and two teachers.
However, there is significant disagreement between the chambers on two major issues addressed during the session: the allocation of public funds towards private education for children, and the approaches to curbing the increase of property taxes.
Different paths on “school choice”
Abbott and Patrick have both prioritized the use of “education savings accounts” for private school payments and have actively campaigned to gain support. However, rural lawmakers in the House have been hesitant about the idea. They are concerned about potential job losses in school districts, which are often the main employers in those areas. Additionally, they worry about the long-term consequences of diverting funds from the public education system, as their schools are often the sole educational choices in their districts.
The Senate passed a bill in early April to allow parents to use education savings accounts to pull their kids out of public schools and use that money toward tuition at a private school.
That same day, the House approved an amendment to the state budget banning the use of “school vouchers or other similar programs.” The budget bill will be changed before the legislative session ends to iron out the differences between the two chambers, and supporters of the educational savings account approach note that the House’s 86-52 vote was much closer than in previous years, giving them hope that the House language could be removed.
Renée Cross, senior director of the Hobby School of Public Affairs in Houston, said the “school choice” battle could come down to Abbott putting his thumb on the scale. While rural Republicans in the House are hesitant to support his education savings account plan, Abbott has worked against lawmakers who didn’t support his policies in past primary elections.
Cross stated that it would significantly increase the pressure on Speaker Phelan and the rural Republicans. He emphasized that if he had to choose a particular issue that would become extremely contentious, it would likely be that one.
Heartburn over property tax cuts
The disagreement between the two chambers extends to property taxes as well.
The Senate is proposing an increase in the state’s homestead exemption for school district taxes. This exemption refers to the portion of a home’s value that is not subject to taxation by school districts. The current exemption of $40,000 would be raised to $70,000, and homeowners who are 65 years or older would receive an additional exemption of $20,000.
The House’s proposal aims to decrease school district taxes, which significantly contribute to high property tax bills, by 28%. Simultaneously, the plan suggests restricting appraisal growth to a maximum of 5% annually. According to House leaders, this strategy would result in an estimated saving of $542 for the average homeowner in the upcoming year, and $733 by 2025. Moreover, businesses would also benefit from the new appraisal cap as they are included in its provisions.
When the House passed its version of property tax savings, Phelan told the legislation’s author, Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Highland Park, the move should “send a message.”
Patrick strongly criticized the House’s tax savings estimates and claimed that reducing the appraisal limit would not actually affect property taxes. Expressing skepticism towards finding a middle ground, he stated that he cannot engage in negotiations with the House due to their flawed calculations.
“Hell will freeze over before I do that,” he told WFAA’s Jason Whitely.
According to Cross, adopting an uncompromising position on a crucial matter increases the likelihood of a special session. Abbott has assured that he will utilize the state’s significant budget surplus to implement the largest tax reduction in Texas’ history. However, he has not publicly endorsed either chamber’s proposal.
Cross stated that with just over a month remaining in the session, there might be a need for both parties to engage in negotiations to determine the bills that hold the highest significance for passage before Memorial Day. In order to guarantee the approval of certain bills, there may be a trade-off where each side compromises on their priorities.
Cross stated that the situation would persist until the end, expressing doubt that any of these matters would be resolved by tomorrow when we go online.
Rinaldi mentioned that since both chambers are controlled by Republicans, there should be no requirement for negotiating on priorities.
He expressed his confusion, saying, “I fail to understand the necessity for horse trading between two Republican-controlled bodies. I fail to see the justification for conflicting interests.”
Disclosure: Planned Parenthood has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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