Governor kills bills to pressure legislators in property tax relief fight
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Bills passed by the Texas Legislature this year are getting caught in the crossfire of an ongoing battle over property tax relief.
With a Sunday deadline looming to sign bills into law, Governor Greg Abbott has begun vetoing legislation in an effort to pressure the Senate to adopt the proposal passed by the House.
As of Thursday afternoon, the governor had vetoed 10 bills.
In two cases, the only rationale he offered in his proclamations was that, while the issues the vetoed bills addressed were important, they were "simply not as important as cutting property taxes."
Six of the 10 bills had come through the office of Republican Senator Paul Bettencourt, who authored the Senate's property tax relief bill. A few of the vetoed bills were related to property taxes, but most were not.
"This is the targeted vetoing of bills that have nothing to do with the issue at hand except Paul Bettencourt is the author of those bills," said Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick at an appearance in Dallas Thursday.
'I cannot believe the governor would use his veto pen to veto dozens and dozens of bills, maybe 100 bill or more. I don't know. But that's the threat," he said.
Among the bills already killed is one written by the Dallas County District Attorney's Office to crack down on gas theft by making it a more serious crime.
District Attorney John Creuzot said he was disappointed to learn of the veto.
In a statement, he wrote that if considered in a future special session that they would "look forward to working without our legislative partners to stop and punish those who steal gasoline, thereby driving up prices for consumers and businesses."
The governor issued a warning Wednesday that more vetoes may be coming.
"All of these bills that have yet to be signed face the possibility, if not the probability, they're going to be vetoed," he said.
According to Patrick, more than 200 Senate bills still remain unsigned by the governor.
Gov. Abbott did signal, though, some of the vetoed bills could be revived.
In some of the veto proclamations, he wrote a bill could be reconsidered "at a future special session only after property tax relief is passed."
spokesperson, Renae Eze:
"The Texas Senate must work with the Texas House to get a property tax bill to the Governor's desk," said Renae Eze, a spokesperson from the Governor's office. "The Governor has made clear the two chambers must reach agreement on property taxes. The Governor has used veto powers every legislative session as Governor, just like his predecessors. A veto is a tool provided by the Constitution to the Governor - in this case to ensure that property taxpayers in Texas will receive the most meaningful relief possible."
