The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Texas House Bill 97 directs surplus state revenue toward reducing school district property taxes
Last action · August 18, 2025: Referred to Ways & MeansSponsors: Helen Kerwin and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 97 requires the state comptroller to allocate 90 percent of certain surplus general revenue into the property tax relief fund for reducing school district es, beginning with the state fiscal biennium starting September 1, 2027.
Property owners across school districts see potential reductions in local burdens as surplus state funds are directed toward lowering the .
- State compression percentages determine the extent to which school districts must compress their local maintenance and operations tax rates. context
- The property tax relief fund receives designated state revenues intended to buy down school district property tax rates. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
School districts
School districts experience changes to their tier one maintenance and operations tax rates and state funding calculations based on the adjusted state compression percentage.
Property taxpayers
Property taxpayers see reductions in local school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes driven by state surplus revenue allocations.
Texas Education Agency
The agency receives dedicated appropriations from the property tax relief fund to administer compression percentage reductions.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the money for property tax relief come from under HB 97?
Who manages the distribution of the property tax relief funds?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Aug 18, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Ways & Means
- Aug 18, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time
- Aug 15, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Automatic Surplus Tax Relief
The bill ties state revenue growth limits directly and automatically to school property tax compression through dedicated fund deposits.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 80)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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