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Senate approves tax exemption for border security infrastructure; constitutional amendment resolution clears
Summary
The Texas Senate passed House Bill 247 to exempt increases in appraised value caused by border security infrastructure from ad valorem taxation and approved a proposed constitutional amendment (HJR 34) to let voters decide whether the exemption may take effect. Lawmakers debated fiscal impacts and property-rights concerns before votes of 23–8.
The Texas Senate on a 23–8 vote approved House Bill 247, which exempts from ad valorem taxation the portion of a property's appraised value that results from the installation or construction of specified border security infrastructure. The chamber also adopted a companion resolution, HJR 34, to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would allow the exemption to take effect if voters approve it.
The bill's sponsor, Senator Middleton, said the measure is designed to prevent landowners who grant easements or otherwise host border security improvements from facing higher property tax bills because those improvements increase appraised value. "The state's border security operations should not place an unexpected and unfair tax burden on Texans who own the land on which these border security easements are located," he told colleagues when…
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