Latest news with #HouseBill9
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Abbott signs 5 laws in favor of Texas small businesses
AUSTIN, Texas (KETK) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed five bills into law on Thursday to support Texas small businesses by improving the process of starting a business and cutting regulations. Gov. Abbott deploys thousands of soldiers to manage planned immigration protests in Texas The following pieces of legislation passed during the 89th Regular Legislative Session and have been signed into law by Abbott: House Joint Resolution 1 House Bill 9 House Bill 346 House Bill 2464 House Bill 5195 The governor's office said each of these bills serve their own purpose within small business, like House Bill 5195 which requires each state agency to assess their website and online services to improve the user experience. This also includes House Bill 2464 which relates to regulation changes for home based businesses. These laws are linked with the Texas economy and Abbott's Small Business Freedom Council that is aimed at recognizing and cutting 'unnecessary' government regulations that Abbott said could hinder Texas small business operations. State Rep. Trent Ashby announces reelection campaign 'The Texas economy is better than ever before,' Abbott said. 'This session, we took strategic steps to boost small businesses in Texas. Even the smallest of barriers can increase the cost of doing business. We want to make it easier and less costly for businesses in Texas, especially our small business owners.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Abbott signs business-boosting bills in virtual ceremony with Houston leaders
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation Thursday morning aimed at reducing costs and regulatory burdens for small businesses, including a measure that would raise the business personal property tax exemption from $2,500 to $125,000. The Republican Governor participated virtually in a ceremony hosted by the Houston Regional Business Coalition, where he touted Texas' economic performance and the state's leadership in job creation. The centerpiece legislation, House Bill 9 and House Joint Resolution 1 by Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-University Park, and Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, would significantly increase the property tax exemption for small businesses. However, the measure requires voter approval of a constitutional amendment in November's election to take effect. Previous: Texas House and Senate strike agreement on property tax cuts Abbott also signed three other business-friendly measures: House Bill 346 by Rep. Caroline Harris Davila, R-Round Rock, streamlines business filing processes at the Secretary of State's office and makes permanent the franchise tax exemption for veteran-owned businesses. House Bill 2464 by Rep. Cole Hefner, R-Mount Pleasant, prevents cities from enforcing certain regulations on qualified home-based businesses. House Bill 5195 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, requires state agencies to improve their websites for better business access. The legislation aligns with Abbott's broader small business agenda. In December, the governor launched the Texas Small Business Freedom Council, directing state agencies to identify rules, permits, fees and regulations that may hamper small business formation and growth. 'These efforts will ensure that Texas continues to move at the speed of business,' Abbott said during the virtual ceremony. Abbott highlighted Texas' economic achievements, noting the state's gross domestic product has reached nearly $2.7 trillion annually. He said Texas leads the nation in power generation and exports. The Governor praised Houston's role in the state's economic success, citing the city's research universities, nearly one million small businesses and major port operations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Texas Laws Boost Homestead Exemptions For Homeowners
Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows hailed the passage of legislation aimed at delivering property tax relief on May 30, though critics argue the measures fail to address escalating tax burdens driven by government spending. The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 4, Senate Bill 23, House Bill 9, Senate Joint Resolution 2, Senate Joint Resolution 85, and House Joint Resolution 1, which, if approved by voters in November, will increase homestead exemptions and business property tax exemptions. 'Never before has the Texas Legislature allocated more funds to provide property tax relief than they did this session,' Abbott said in a press release. 'I will sign these bills into law to deliver lasting relief for Texans and their families, and I urge Texans to approve the new increases in the homestead and business property tax exemptions this November.' Senate Bill 4 raises the homestead exemption to $140,000 for all homeowners, while Senate Bill 23 increases it to $200,000 for seniors and disabled individuals. House Bill 9 enhances tax exemptions for business inventory, a move small businesses have pushed to eliminate. The joint resolutions propose constitutional amendments to make these exemptions permanent, pending voter approval. 'When I became Lieutenant Governor in 2015, the homestead exemption was a tiny $15,000,' Patrick said in the press release. 'Since then, we have increased it to $100,000, and with the passage of Senate Bill 4 and Senate Bill 23, it is now $200,000 for seniors and $140,000 for non-seniors. The average senior homeowner will no longer pay any school property taxes for the rest of their life as long as they live in their home.' Speaker Burrows added, 'With the Legislature's overwhelming passage of additional property tax relief, Texas home and business owners are on their way to keeping more of their hard-earned money.' Abbott declared property tax relief an emergency item in his 2025 State of the State Address, following a 2023 session in which Patrick called that year's relief package 'the largest property tax relief package in Texas history, and likely the world.' Despite these claims, property taxes rose by $5.4 billion in 2024, a 6.6% increase from 2023, according to state comptroller data cited by economist Bill Peacock, per Center Square. Counties raised taxes by 10.4%, school districts by 6.4%, special districts by 6.1%, and cities by 3.9%. Critics, including economist Vance Ginn, argue that the Legislature's approach of temporarily compressing rates and increasing exemptions merely shifts the tax burden without reducing it. 'Texans want to own their homes – not rent them from the government forever,' Ginn said, according to Center Square. 'They want a government that lives within its means, just like they do. And they want honesty – not headlines – from their elected officials.' Ginn advocates capping state and local spending growth to population growth plus inflation, requiring a two-thirds vote for increases, and using the state's surplus to eliminate school district maintenance and operations taxes. Fiscal conservatives have criticized the current budget as 'a bloated, big-government plan masquerading as conservative reform,' warning, as Ginn did, 'If we continue down this path, Texas won't just resemble California – we'll become it.' Taxpayers on social media have echoed these concerns, arguing the Legislature's spending habits undermine relief efforts.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas House and Senate strike agreement on property tax cuts
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — As the clock expired on the 88th Legislative Session, property tax relief was left on the chopping block. Governor Greg Abbott cited the failure to pass property tax relief as a reason behind numerous vetoes. Abbott ended up calling multiple special sessions dedicated towards property tax relief. On Monday, during the Texas House Ways and Means Committee, Chair Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, announced there won't be a repeat of last session. 'We have reached an agreement with the Senate as it relates to tax relief,' Meyer announced from the dais. He had just left a pair of bills increasing the homestead exemption — Senate Bill 4 and Senate Joint Resolution 2 — pending in committee. '[Senate Local Government Chair Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston will] lay out a committee substitute for Business Personal Property (BPP) exemption — we'll be doing that at $125,000. Then we are passing these homestead exemption bills from Senator Bettencourt as is.' State of Texas: Lottery on 'life support' as Lt. Governor calls for ending commission Meyer's House Bill 9 initially proposed to increase the BPP exemption to $250,000 from $2,500. Bettencourt's updated version was sent to the Senate floor with a 9-0 vote on Monday. The BPP exemption allows homeowners to write off parts of their property if used for their business. 'It's only Monday, but a great start to small business week at the Capitol! Proud to sponsor HB 9 & HJR 1 by House Chair @MorganMeyerTX in committee today, and passing them out on unanimous 7-0 votes!,' Bettencourt posted on X. 'This helps all Texas businesses by dramatically increasing the BPP (Business Personal Property) exemption from $2,500 to $125,000— delivering ~$2,500 in avg. savings per @txbiz and my estimate, but especially for small business owners saving them their time as well as their money!' Bettencourt has two bills currently pending in Meyer's committee. SB 4 increases the general homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, which will save Texas homeowners an average of $363.44, according to Bettencourt. Senate Bill 23 increases the additional homestead exemption for elderly and disabled homeowners from $10,000 to $60,000. Bettencourt estimates an extra $454.30 average savings for senior and disabled homeowners. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Arts grants head to Montana governor without cuts restored
Lawmakers have sent a bill funding arts grants to Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte without restoring awards that were cut amid a scuffle — driven by Anaconda Republican Rep. John Fitzpatrick — over organizations that didn't present their applications before a legislative budget subcommittee. The grants bill, House Bill 9, is a routine funding measure that routes investment earnings from the state's coal trust to grants that support cultural and aesthetic projects. As it was introduced this year, based on grant applications compiled by the Montana Arts Council and included in Gianforte's budget proposal, the bill would have allocated $954,000 to 75 organizations, with most awards either $12,000 or $13,500. However, Fitzpatrick and other lawmakers on a budget subcommittee voted in February to strike grants for 17 organizations that didn't appear in person or virtually at January committee hearings. They also reduced grants for another 10 organizations that had provided only written testimony. The funding that was freed up by those cuts was redistributed to other applicants, increasing the remaining allocations. At the time, Republican and Democratic committee members expressed concern about the non-appearances, which they said kept them from being able to effectively evaluate the proposals. 'It's not a very heavy lift to sit on a Zoom call for 15 minutes and give a presentation about your project and maybe answer a question or two from the committee in exchange for $12,000, $13,000,' Fitzpatrick said at a Feb. 17 meeting. 'But apparently we have a number of people who don't think that's part of the process.' Materials from the Arts Council provided to grantees in advance of the January hearings had indicated that testifying before the committee was optional. 'You are not required to testify, but the committee chair strongly encourages everyone to participate,' those materials read in part, adding that applicants could testify in person, via writing or by a Zoom video call. The arts council staffer who manages the grant program, Kristin Burgoyne, apologized for giving applicants the impression that testimony was optional, saying at a Feb. 21 meeting of the full House Appropriations Committee that she had misinterpreted Fitzpatrick's expectations. As the arts grant bill advanced through the remainder of the legislative process, lawmakers restored funding for a few applicants that they judged to have extenuating circumstances for not providing verbal testimony — in one case because an executive director had left for another job and in another because an executive director had died. However, Fitzpatrick has resisted restoring other grant awards, instead using the funding cuts to broadcast his displeasure with how the Arts Council, a state agency, is managing the grant program. He's said he doesn't like how the grants are awarded to some of the state's largest arts organizations session after session, creating a dynamic he's likened to an 'entitlement program.' 'The Arts Council I think has made a serious mistake,' Fitzpatrick said as the bill was debated on the House floor April 7. 'Instead of vetting these projects and creating some criteria to rank them and select some that should be better than others, they've kind of treated this thing like running salami through the slicer — everybody gets a piece of the pie.' A separate bill sponsored by Fitzpatrick, House Bill 757, would rework how the arts grants are awarded in future sessions, requiring the Arts Council to rank proposals with a system that prioritizes smaller organizations and ones that haven't received recent grant awards. That bill has passed both chambers of the Legislature with bipartisan support and is headed to the governor. As the debate has drawn on, Fitzpatrick drew criticism for not disclosing that his wife, Connie, is on the board of a grant recipient that got more money than originally proposed. St. Timothy's Summer Music Festival in Anaconda had its grant increased from $5,000 to $12,600 as a result of the cut dollars being redistributed. State law generally requires legislators to disclose conflicts of interest before taking part in a legislative matter 'that would directly give rise to an appearance of impropriety as to the legislator's influence, benefit, or detriment.' In a statement to the Daily Montanan, Fitzpatrick said he isn't affiliated with the festival himself and does 'not personally benefit' from the grant. Fitzpatrick's son, House Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, referenced the Daily Montanan's coverage of his father as he made an ethics disclosure during the House debate on the grants bill. 'My mother is a board member of one of these groups that's getting some money here under this — I guess I'll disclose that,' Fitzpatrick said. 'I guess I'll disclose that for him too.' Among the organizations that lost funding as a result of the wrangling over the bill are the Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture in Bozeman, the Alberta Bair Theater in Billings, the Billings Symphony Society, the Bitterroot Performing Arts Council, Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization, Cohesion Dance Project in Helena, the Daly Mansion Preservation Trust in Hamilton, the Glacier Symphony and Chorale in Kalispell, the Grandstreet Theatre in Helena, the Lewistown Arts Center, Queen City Ballet in Helena and the Whitefish Theatre Co. A full list of the organizations funded or defunded as the bill heads to the governor's desk is here. ___ This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
