Officials took the extraordinary step of taking on new debt to replace the old courthouse, which has been plagued by rats and other pests, elevator breakdowns and flooding.

Tuesday marked the first day lawmakers could file bills for next year’s legislative session.

Texas Republicans have been trying to reduce the state’s high property taxes for years, but some acknowledge eliminating them would be too expensive.

In the state’s larger counties, voters can now elect people to the agencies that appraise property values.

Texas has spent billions of dollars to drive down property taxes. Many homeowners saw a significant tax cut last year, per a Texas Tribune analysis.

Sessions will run from February to May, and homeowners can apply for exemptions and learn about how to protest the appraised value of their home.

The Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation program cuts property taxes for new manufacturing, research and development facilities. It replaces a shuttered program criticized for its impact on school finance.

Voters in Texas’ 50 largest counties will now elect new three members of their respective property appraisal district boards.

The view of downtown from many of the homes in the Dignowity Hill neighborhood is second to none, but they also have a front-row seat to some of the city’s biggest issues: homelessness, gentrification and rising property taxes.

This edition of Know My Neighborhood explores the push and pull of preservation versus progress, the heart of a neighborhood in transition and the struggle for the community to define itself.

Tax policy is messy. Here are a few tips to help you understand what the recent voter-approved tax cuts mean for your mortgage.

The $18 billion property tax-cut package is aimed squarely at lowering school district property taxes, which make up the lion’s share of a Texas landowner’s property tax bill.

Voters approved a massive property tax cut and several other measures, but refused to raise the mandatory retirement age for judges.

Proposition 4 could usher in a bevy of property tax changes. That includes using $12.7 billion from a record state budget surplus to lower school district taxes.

For decades, the Texas comptroller’s office has double-checked property valuations across the state, which help determine how much school districts can levy in property taxes. But when state and county appraisers disagree, districts can end up with big holes in their budgets.

Legislation passed this month would raise the state’s homestead exemption to $100,000, lower schools’ tax rates and put an appraisal cap on residential and commercial properties, among other measures. But voters must approve a constitutional amendment first.

At a time when the state has some of the nation’s highest property taxes, the initiative was a cornerstone of his 2022 reelection campaign.

In this week’s episode, we discuss the winners and losers — politically and financially — after lawmakers approved an $18 billion tax cut bill.

Efforts to repair rifts, particularly among Republican leaders, begin as another contentious special session looms on Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for “school choice.”

The City of San Antonio is holding four sessions to help residents lower their property tax.

House Democrats attempted to insert benefits for renters and more money for public education into the tax-cuts package in a series of floor amendments but were unsuccessful.

The package could land on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk by the end of the week. Voters must pass the plan in a constitutional election in November for it to take effect in the 2023 tax year.

State lawmakers made a deal in legislative "double overtime." But could it ultimately hurt public schools and cost Texans more in the long run? KSAT Explains.

The deal would channel $12 billion to reduce the school property tax rate for homeowners and business properties, increase the homestead exemption, and create a pilot program to reduce taxes on certain residential and commercial properties. The legislation is expected to pass later this week.

Top Republicans promised property tax cuts, but have been locked in standoffs on how to achieve it. Gov. Greg Abbott has called another overtime legislative session in hopes of solidifying a plan.

Gov. Greg Abbott quickly called lawmakers back to the Capitol for round two, hoping to break an impasse that has outlasted the regular session and one overtime period.

San Antonio’s City Council successfully doubled the city’s homestead tax exemption to 20%, the maximum allowed by state law.

The Senate’s latest proposal is an apparent effort to appease Gov. Greg Abbott and the lower chamber. The state’s top Republicans have been at odds for months over how to use the state’s historic budget surplus to cut property taxes.

Gov. Greg Abbott has thrown his weight behind the idea being pushed by an influential conservative think tank. Many school leaders are worried.

In this week’s episode we check in with radio host Mark Davis and politics reporter Patrick Svitek about the GOP intraparty fighting over property taxes and Ken Paxton’s impeachment.

The governor says other issues aren’t as important as breaking a House-Senate stalemate over the best course on reducing property taxes.

The city has to lower its tax rate in order to stay under a state-imposed cap, but city staff are also recommending the city max out the possible homestead exemptions at 20%. That would result in San Antonio homeowners paying less on their city tax bills than they did in 2022, even though their home values are likely higher.

With several hundred bills awaiting action by the governor, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the veto threat an affront to Texans and the legislative process.

The special session churns on with the House adjourned, the Senate still working and the governor welcoming an agreement that has thus far eluded lawmakers.

On this week’s episode, we speak to the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s James Quintero, who has been at the center of the debate over property taxes this week.

The governor stands behind his support of the Texas House tax plan despite Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s insistence that the Senate has a better deal for homeowners.

Always happy to castigate the Texas House, Patrick breaks form to criticize the governor as misinformed and unsympathetic toward homeowners.

The House passed a bill without Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s preferred increase to homestead exemptions — then abruptly adjourned for the special session. That basically tells the Senate to take the House bill Gov. Greg Abbott backs or leave it.

After negotiations that became tense and public, the House and Senate fell short of delivering on one of the biggest legislative priorities for Republicans in the regular legislative session.

Seeking to avoid a special session, the state leaders discuss school choice, property taxes and grid reform.

Lawmakers are trying hard to come up with an agreement on how to replace an embattled 20-year tax abatement program for big companies that expired in December.

House lawmakers added a significant boost to the Senate’s proposed homestead exemption and tacked on a contentious idea to lower the state’s appraisal cap.

On the final day to file, the Bexar County Appraisal District was overwhelmed with taxpayers filing protests to try to prove their latest property values were much too high.

Both the House and the Senate’s proposals on property tax cuts would give modest savings to the typical Texas homeowner, but critics say the House plan could create vast inequities and disproportionately benefit wealthy homeowners.

House Speaker Dade Phelan has said tightening the appraisal cap is the best way to cut property taxes, but Senate tax-cut proponents, housing experts and business groups predict the move would have dire consequences.

The Senate wants to raise the homestead exemption. The House wants to tighten the appraisal cap. Both chambers’ leaders are skeptical of each other’s proposal.

The proposals target the taxes homeowners pay and require school districts to lower their tax rates.

Cuts to school property tax bills. Bigger tax benefits for homeowners. A controversial idea to limit property tax growth. Here’s what you need to know about the brewing property tax debate at the Texas Legislature.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s proposal reveals the different roads the Texas House and Senate want to take on property taxes — and the fight that might emerge between the two chambers this session.

Republicans are wrestling over how much of the state’s nearly $33 billion budget surplus to spend on property taxes. Democrats have their own ideas about what to do with the cash.

The program, known as Chapter 313, provides companies with billions of dollars in property tax breaks. The court said it is up to the Legislature to make the call on what to do as the program is set to expire and the state is swamped with applications.

Hundreds of businesses have sought tax savings from the state before the Chapter 313 program expires. Two companies say they are missing out despite being eligible.

On this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with James and Karen about property taxes and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s legislative priorities.

The state’s high property taxes have taken center stage as Texas’ real estate market explodes and drives up home values.

The propositions on the May 7 ballot would lower property taxes by shifting more public school costs to the state. But the measures’ language can be hard to understand.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Jolie about the stay of execution in Lucio’s case and with Josh about property taxes in Texas.

Texas school districts, cities and counties rely heavily on property taxes to pay for roads, libraries, police, firefighters and public schools. But lowering tax bills has long been a difficult endeavor.

Texas lawmakers tried to lower property tax bills during their 2019 session, and a new report says they put a dent in the problem: Taxes aren’t rising as quickly as they would have. But they didn’t solve it: Property taxes are still rising.

Homeowners in Bexar County can expect sticker shock when they receive notice of their new property appraisals. Values are up nearly 28 percent.

The increases are being felt across the county, but the more affordable areas saw the largest increases as far as percentages.

State lawmakers will tell you they hate property taxes as much as anyone. But the state itself doesn’t levy the tax — local governments do. And lowering it in a meaningful way would require state officials to raise taxes or cut programs. For them, talking about it is easier than doing something.

Twenty-five states, including California and New York, preceded Texas in getting federally backed programs up and running to help homeowners suffering financial hardship because of COVID-19.

If two propositions pass, the state will increase school funding to make up for revenues lost from a decrease in property taxes.

Most voters approve of using state money to add border barriers between Texas and Mexico. But 57% disapprove of a new abortion law’s provision allowing lawsuits against people who help someone get the procedure.

Unofficial results show that Texas voters approved eight amendments to the state Constitution.

High Texas property taxes were an issue in the state's 2018 elections, and you can see from their work on a new homestead exemption earlier this week that state lawmakers didn't forget that lesson from voters.

If voters approve the measure next year, it will raise the state’s homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 for school district property taxes, netting the average homeowner about $176 in savings.

Republican lawmakers have faced pressure to provide some form of property tax relief this year. Critics of a new proposal say it’s politically timed.

Collier says his 2018 close call against Patrick was no fluke. Next year, he’s out to prove that his campaign can make a real challenge to the two-term incumbent.

Tax relief for property owners joins a packed to-do list for Texas lawmakers — which includes redistricting, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and a spending plan for $16 billion in federal stimulus dollars.

Abbott has faced pressure from his right to prioritize property tax relief. One of his challengers in the Republican primary has slammed him for not including it earlier in the agenda, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called it his top priority this session.

Commissioners voted 3-1, with one abstention, to cut the tax rate for the county’s portion of property tax bills from $0.301097 to $0.299999 for every $100 of valuation. That equates to somewhere between a $3 to $4 savings a year for the average homeowner, staff said.

SAN ANTONIO As if paying the mortgage and grocery bills is not challenging enough for people whove lost jobs and income, many now face a June 30 deadline to pay their property taxes. How am I going to pay my property taxes? said Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector Albert Uresti. Seniors, the disabled, and disabled veterans struggling to get by also can get a 180-day property tax deferment. To lower property taxes, property owners should make sure they are receiving all of the exemptions they are due, such as homeowners exemption, disabled veteran and over 65. For 2020 taxes, property owners can appeal their appraisals, potentially easing future tax burdens.

We talked to local homeowners and experts, looked at data and even played with Legos to break down all you need to know about property taxes. Bexar County property valuesTheres a reason youve been reading so much about property taxes lately. Property values in San Antonio and Bexar County have been rising. We requested information from the Bexar County Appraisal District, breaking down the average residential property appraisal in 2014 and in 2019 by ZIP code. City study on property appraisal processThe city of San Antonio is reviewing how the Bexar County Appraisal District operates.

How property taxes have changed, skyrocketed in San Antonio neighborhoodsPublished: July 31, 2020, 1:40 pmKSAT News at 9 gives you a deep dive into rising property taxes and how it affects you.