Texas Senate passes $18 billion property tax relief bill amidst political stalemate.

The Texas Senate passed a new property tax relief bill that promises a record amount of property tax relief, providing a total of $18 billion in property tax relief. The bill increases the homestead exemption for most homeowners to $100,000 and for homeowners over 65 to $110,000, providing savings of nearly $2,600 dollars to most homeowners for the first two years and nearly $3,000 in savings for the first two years for homeowners over 65. The bill also doubles the business franchise tax exemption to nearly $2.5 million. The bill now needs to be approved by the Texas House, which has its own legislation.