Property tax relief is once again emerging as a top political issue for the next state legislative session starting in January 2027. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick unveiled his plan Tuesday to eliminate school property taxes on homesteads.

It comes after Governor Greg Abbott released his own plan with the same goal but a different method of achieving it. Abbott's proposal includes appraisal caps and a constitutional amendment to end school property taxes on homesteads.

Right now, people 65 and older have their homestead home values on school property taxes frozen. Patrick's plan will lower the age threshold to 55. 

Patrick also wants to raise the homestead exemption on school property taxes for most homeowners from $140,000 this year to $180,000. For homeowners 65 and older, their homestead exemption would go up from $200,000 now to $240,000. Homeowners between 55 and 65 would receive the largest increase in the homestead exemption: from $140,000 now to $240,000. 

In an interview with Patrick, he told CBS News Texas that ending school property taxes on homesteads is possible, but not immediately. 

"Once we eliminate all school taxes, which I think we can do, and in total for everyone in two or three sessions total, once you get that done, well, that's 40% of a property tax bill that's just going to go away," he said.  

Patrick said that while his plan can't do it all at once, it is the most effective way of reaching the goal. He said it's a combination of continuing to raise the homestead's exemption and lowering the age at which homeowners can see their homestead values frozen. 

"Once you freeze someone's value, as we do now for those 65, appraisals don't matter to them," Patrick said. "By lowering it to 55, out of our six million homeowners in Texas, three point three million will have their appraisals frozen for the rest of their life. That's significant. That's a different way of getting at that issue without the appraisal caps. That only makes taxes go up in the short and long term. The appraisals, for the most part, have been taken off the table anyway. People get their value in the spring or appraisal, but they don't look at the tax bill." 

"So, it used to be if your appraisal [was] 8% or 7%, your taxes went up seven or eight. That's just not been the case since 2021. We changed it in 2019. And how did we do that? Because we limited how much local government can spend, or their revenues can increase 3.5%," Patrick continued. "So, if the values go up, they have to lower the tax rate. But the best thing you can do is just to freeze them. So, coming down to 55 is significant. If you talk to seniors today, and you can always go out and find somebody who's not happy, but the average senior isn't paying any more school taxes for the rest of their life. Overall, since 2021, we've cut school taxes by about $2,000 overall."

Patrick said he hasn't reviewed Abbott's proposal. 

"We're not in competition. I'm not competing with him on my tax plan or his tax plan," said Patrick. 

He said Abbott and Speaker Dustin Burrows will work together during the 2027 legislative session. 

In a statement to CBS News Texas, Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott's press secretary, said, "Texans demand lasting property tax relief. Governor Abbott looks forward to working with the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker, and all lawmakers on thoughtful policy that gives taxpayers more control over their property taxes, reins in local government spending, slashes appraisal increases, and eliminates the school district property tax for homeowners." 

Abbott has held various campaign rallies across Texas to promote his property tax relief plan.