Several new real estate-related laws passed in 2019 by the 86th 德克萨斯州立法机构于1月6日生效. 1, 2020. These include the following REALTOR®-supported bills that benefit Texas real estate consumers.

扩大获得房屋净值的机会

1月1日起, property owners may now use agricultural land as collateral for a home equity loan (House Bill 1254, 代表撰写. 由吉姆·墨菲(Jim Murphy)发起. 凯利Hancock).

In 2017, voters approved a REALTOR®-supported constitutional amendment to modernize the home equity lending process for property owners. This new law further updates those provisions to allow more homeowners the ability to access the hard-earned equity in their homes while maintaining the strong consumer protections in the Texas Constitution.

提高财产税的透明度

Several pieces of the monumental property tax reform legislation from 2019 (Senate Bill 2, 作者:Sen. 保罗·贝当古(Paul Bettencourt. Dustin Burrows) took effect January 1 to be in place for the 2020 tax year:

  • Changes the rollback rate from 8% for local taxing entities and gives voters more of a say in the tax rates that determine property tax bills
    • 大多数城市和县将受到3级的限制.5%回滚率
    • Most cities and counties will have automatic elections if they exceed the rollback rate
  • Renames the “effective rate” to the “no-new-revenue tax rate” and renames the “rollback rate” to the “voter-approval tax rate,” clarifying what these important tax rates mean for taxpayers
  • Requires central appraisal districts to create online databases to provide more information to taxpayers. (CADs in counties with less than 200,000 population have until the 2021 tax year to comply.数据库将……
    • Show property owners how proposed tax rate changes would affect their bills
    • Make it easy for taxpayers to submit comments via an online form
    • Provide information about when and where a property owner’s local taxing entities

物业税豁免

A new law provides a temporary property tax exemption for property owners in areas that have been declared disasters by the governor. This will help property owners struggling in the wake of disaster and provide these taxpayers more immediate relief.

The new law is the result of the passage of State of Texas Proposition 3, 哪些选民在2019年11月投票通过了. This constitutional amendment was on the ballot after the 86th 德州议会 passed House Bill 492 and House Joint Resolution 34 (代表撰写. 休·希恩，由参议员赞助. 拉里·泰勒和保罗·贝当古).

防洪拨款

2019年11月大选, voters also passed a constitutional amendment known as State of Texas Proposition 8. This one was on the ballot after the passage of Senate Bill 7, 作者:Sen. 布兰登·克莱顿，由众议员. 戴德Phelan.

The resulting new law effective January 1 created a Flood Infrastructure Fund to develop flood mitigation infrastructure, which will help communities better withstand future flood events and create a more resilient Texas in preparation for future flooding.

2020年将出台更多新法律

Visit the website of the Legislative Reference Library of Texas 查看86年所有账单的清单th legislative session and provisions from other bills that became effective Jan. 1, 2020.

联系杰米·李, director of advocacy communications, for more information about any of these legislative changes.