A bill to expand government reimbursement of tax receipts on lost land due to the 100% land tax exemption for veterans with disabilities known as House Bill 125 is practically dead after failing until Thursday midnight Bills were reached that are to be voted on in-house.
The bill would have extended eligibility to Harker Heights, Nolanville, and other cities within 2 miles of a military base. Currently, Killeen, Copperas Cove and immediately adjacent towns are eligible for the reimbursed funding.
"We're disappointed we didn't make it," said Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, who sponsored the bill, on Saturday.
He said the bill was put on the calendar as early as Wednesday to put it to the vote, but it has fallen into disrepair due to a process known as "wiping off" other bills on the calendar that some House legislatures did not want to pass, delayed.
According to the Legislative Reference Library of Texas website, chubbing refers to the practice of one or more members of the legislature debating at length bills to slow the legislative process.
If there had been a vote, Buckley said the bill would "absolutely" have passed the House. The bill was passed 20: 1 by a House Committee, indicating that it was cheap.
While the House bill can be finalized, the bill still has a chance to pass due to a similar accompanying bill in the Texas Senate that will be voting on bills in the final two weeks of the session.
Senate Bill 525, submitted by Senator Dawn Buckingham, will do essentially the same thing as House Bill 125.
Buckley said he hoped it would happen.
The proposed bill has strong support in the Killeen-Fort Hood area, where some cities are missing millions of dollars in annual property tax revenue due to the high population of 100% disabled veterans who do not have to pay property taxes of state law.
The Texas House Appropriations Committee held a public hearing on House Bill 125 at the Texas Capitol in April, which was attended by local officials.
"Our city will have to forego more than 18% of the city's total property tax revenue this year," said Jerry Bark, deputy city administrator for Harker Heights. "The sustainability of services is becoming difficult and we fear that it will soon be impossible."
He said that since 2013, the average revenue loss for Harker Heights has been 31%.
Nolanville Mayor Pro Tem David Williams said the number of retirees in Nolanville has increased 90% over the past decade.
Describing Nolanville as a "dormitory," he found that many Nolanville residents shop in the larger cities because it is right next to Harker Heights and in close proximity to Killeen.
"Our income comes from only two sources, as you all know – sales tax and property tax," said Williams. “… Although this is a well-deserved achievement that is needed for all of our disabled veterans, we do not receive this property tax in order to be able to finance the necessary services and we lose this sales tax just because we are a smaller community and do not shop can. "
"Regardless of whether a city touches Fort Hood or a military facility, it is disproportionately disproportionately disproportionate," said Hilary Shine, city spokeswoman for Killeen, who also spoke at the hearing.
She told the committee that Killeen testified in support because while the reimbursement doesn't fully make up for the loss, it helps bridge the gap.
Shine said that as a large portion of Fort Hood's population resides in the city of Killeen and the tax burden is shifted to the rest of its residents, it is at the expense of many other active service provider members, families and veterans who do not qualify for the exemption.
"Ultimately, you bring it back to the communities, and those communities don't have to levy taxes to fill those loopholes," Shine said, adding that refunding roughly $ 3.5 million to Killeen helped about 40% to fill the void created by the lost revenue.