Between the school finance bill that cut property tax rates and the property tax reform bill which limited future growth of them, 2020 is the first year the Legislature’s plan for tax relief kicks in. Last year, lawmakers estimated the former bill would lower school district property tax rates by an average of 8 cents per $100 valuation in…

2019 may have been the perfect year for lawmakers to pass an ambitious and expensive school finance reform and property tax reduction plan. Now Texas politicians face questions about whether doing so — without raising taxes elsewhere — will be sustainable in less auspicious times.

Austin (KXAN) — On Tuesday, state leaders gathered as Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3 into law, a landmark public education finance reform bill.

In 2006, the Legislature erased a big chunk of school property taxes for homeowners across the state and replaced the lost revenue for schools with new business taxes, an increased cigarette tax and a revamped motor vehicle tax, among other sources. Teachers, librarians, counselors and nurses received a $2,000 pay raise.

A key Texas Senate panel agreed Thursday to spend $9 billion on public education and property tax relief, matching the amount approved by the House hours earlier. The two spending plans differ on how to slice up that multi-billion-dollar pie, however.