Monitoring the Session

SB 1023

bill tweaks the tax rate worksheets

Became law, effective Jan 1, 2026

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Sen. Paul BettencourtRSenate 7

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

New math for no-new-revenue and voter-approval rates.

The bill changes the state tax rate worksheets that local taxing units use to set their no-new-revenue and voter-approval tax rates. It requires the local officer who fills out those worksheets to attach a hyperlink to a supporting document for every entry that is not just math, and it requires tax increment adjustments to be calculated separately for each reinvestment zone the unit joins. Starting with the 2026 tax year, residents can click through to the source behind each number in their city, county or district's rate calculation.

Labels

Labels: BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R SB 1998 (Vetoed). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB1023 · 2025-01-30

SOLD BY

ITEM

relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates.

WHAT IT DOES

New math for no-new-revenue and voter-approval rates.

The bill changes the state tax rate worksheets that local taxing units use to set their no-new-revenue and voter-approval tax rates. It requires the local officer who fills out those worksheets to attach a hyperlink to a supporting document for every entry that is not just math, and it requires tax increment adjustments to be calculated separately for each reinvestment zone the unit joins. Starting with the 2026 tax year, residents can click through to the source behind each number in their city, county or district's rate calculation.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version F · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version F · May 12, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Received by the Secretary of the Senate
  2. Filed
  3. Read first time
  4. Referred to Local Government
  5. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  6. Considered in public hearing
  7. Testimony taken in committee
  8. Left pending in committee
  9. Considered in public hearing
  10. Vote taken in committee
  11. Reported favorably w/o amendments
  12. Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
  13. Committee report printed and distributed
  14. Placed on local & uncontested calendar
  15. Laid before the Senate
  16. Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
  17. Vote recorded in Journal
  18. Three day rule suspended
  19. Record vote
  20. Read 3rd time
  21. Passed
  22. Record vote
  23. Reported engrossed
  24. Received from the Senate
  25. Read first time
  26. Referred to Ways & Means
  27. Considered in formal meeting
  28. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  29. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  30. Committee report distributed
  31. Committee report sent to Calendars
  32. Laid out in lieu of companion HB 5447
  33. Read 2nd time
  34. Passed to 3rd reading
  35. Nonrecord vote recorded in Journal
  36. Read 3rd time
  37. Amended 1-Troxclair
  38. Record vote RV#2064
  39. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  40. Passed as amended
  41. Record vote RV#2065
  42. House passage as amended reported
  43. House amendment(s) laid before the Senate
  44. Read
  45. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)
  46. Record vote
  47. Senate concurs in House amendment(s)-reported
  48. Reported enrolled
  49. Signed in the Senate
  50. Signed in the House
  51. Sent to the Governor
  52. Signed by the Governor
  53. Effective on 1/1/26
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 103 yea · 27 nay

Senate · 30 yea · 0 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 10, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate: Final passage · Apr 10, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Donors

Donors report through Friends of Paul Bettencourt.

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Oct 27, 2024 to Jun 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

Votes6

Senate May 14, 2025

Yea
31
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

Sources

Senator Bettencourt moved to concur in the House amendment to SB 1023. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 31 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 10, 2025

Yea
103
Nay
27
Present, not voting
2
Absent
1
Excused
17
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2065

SB 1023, as amended, was passed by (Record 2065): 103 Yeas, 27 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 103 (published)
  • Nay: 27 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 1 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 17 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 10, 2025

Yea
114
Nay
13
Present, not voting
2
Absent
4
Excused
17
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2064

Amendment No. 1 was adopted by (Record 2064): 114 Yeas, 13 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 114 (published)
  • Nay: 13 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 4 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 17 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate Apr 10, 2025

Final passage

Yea
30
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records final passage. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

SB 1023 (Bettencourt) Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates. (viva voce vote) (30-0) (30-0)

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate Apr 10, 2025

Suspension of the three-day rule

Yea
30
Nay
0
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records suspension of the three-day rule. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Sources

SB 1023 (Bettencourt) Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates. (viva voce vote) (30-0) (30-0)

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 30 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Senate Apr 10, 2025

Passage to engrossment

Yea
Not printed
Nay
Not printed
Present, not voting
Not printed
Absent
Not printed
Excused
Not printed
Names

Senate journal

Names were not printed. No individual positions are inferred.

The journal row lists three votes in order: passage to engrossment, suspension of the three-day rule, and final passage. This entry records passage to engrossment. Repeated tallies belong to separate votes.

Voice vote. No numeric tally or individual yeas are inferred.

Sources

SB 1023 (Bettencourt) Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates. (viva voce vote) (30-0) (30-0)

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: Not printed
  • Nay: Not printed
  • Present, not voting: Not printed
  • Absent: Not printed
  • Excused: Not printed

Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses8
For
4
Against
2
On
2
Names

For

  • Association of Electric Companies of Texas, Inc (AECT)1 registration
  • Texas Apartment Association1 registration
  • Texas Public Policy Foundation1 registration
  • Texas Taxpayers and Research Association1 registration

Against

  • County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas1 registration
  • El Paso County1 registration

On

  • Conference f urban counties1 registration
  • Texas Conptroller of Public Accounts1 registration
Sources

8 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

Senate witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version F · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version F · May 12, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R SB 1998

by Sen. Bettencourt, same lead author · Vetoed · same text

Introduced text

Last action, Jun 15, 2023: Vetoed by the Governor

Relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Jan 30, 2025

05/27/2025 E Effective on 1/1/26

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · Senate Committee Report · Engrossed · House Committee Report · Enrolled

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Sponsors

House committee · Ways & Means · Committee vote 10 aye, 1 nay, 2 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · Local Government · Committee vote 6 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Companion

HB 5447 by Troxclair (identical)

Subjects

Taxation--Property-Assessment & Collection

Taxation--Property-Tax Rate

REINVESTMENT ZONES

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

Text

The text as introduced · 425 words

89R1795 RDS-D

By: Bettencourt
S.B. No. 1023

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the calculation of certain ad valorem tax rates.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 5.07(g), Tax Code, is amended to read as

follows:

(g) The forms described by Subsection (f) must be in an

electronic format and:

(1) have blanks that can be filled in electronically;

(2) be capable of being certified by the designated

officer or employee after completion as accurately calculating the

applicable tax rates and using values that are the same as the

values shown in, as applicable:

(A) the taxing unit's certified appraisal roll;

or

(B) the certified estimate of taxable value of

property in the taxing unit prepared under Section 26.01(a-1);

[ and ]

(3) be capable of being electronically incorporated

into the property tax database maintained by each appraisal

district under Section 26.17 and submitted electronically to the

county assessor-collector of each county in which all or part of the

territory of the taxing unit is located ; and

(4) be capable of including for each entry, other than

an entry making a mathematical calculation, a hyperlink to a

document that evidences the accuracy of the entry .

SECTION 2. Section 26.03, Tax Code, is amended by adding

Subsection (e) to read as follows:

(e) For a taxing unit in which a tax rate calculation for a

tax year is affected by the application of this section, the

adjustments to the value of property taxable by the unit and to the

amount of taxes imposed or collected by the unit prescribed by this

section shall be calculated separately for each reinvestment zone

in which the taxing unit participates. The comptroller shall

ensure that the tax rate calculation forms prescribed under Section

5.07 provide for the calculations to be made in the manner required

by this subsection.

SECTION 3. Section 26.04(d-1), Tax Code, is amended to read

as follows:

(d-1) The designated officer or employee shall use the tax

rate calculation forms prescribed by the comptroller under Section

5.07 in calculating the no-new-revenue tax rate and the

voter-approval tax rate. The designated officer or employee must

include a hyperlink described by Section 5.07(g)(4) for each entry

on the form, other than an entry making a mathematical calculation.

SECTION 4. This Act applies to the calculation of an ad

valorem tax rate only for a tax year that begins on or after the

effective date of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.