A controversial Texas bill aims to provide property tax breaks to heterosexual couples with children.
Austin, Texas A controversial bill proposed by the Texas Capitol seeks to provide property tax breaks to certain couples based on the number of children they have. But the wrong people, same-sex couples and divorcees are puzzling.
“What he’s doing is stimulating and promoting a healthy family unit,” said State Representative Brian Slaton of Greenville.
Slayton is proposing a Texas home bill that would give couples tax credits based on the number of children they have.
“I’m from East Texas. We have biblical values that we want people to get married, stay married, be fruitful and multiply,” Slayton said.
HB 2889 will reward just that. Parents with four children will qualify for a 40 percent property tax rebate, and it will increase. With 10 children, your house is exempt from taxes. The benefit continues even after your children become adults.
“I think we need to encourage more kids. Yes, I’m a little worried about our birth rate,” Slayton said.
But there is one part of the bill that makes many think. To qualify, the couple must be a man and a woman legally married to each other, neither of whom has ever been divorced.
Austin-based FOX 7 reporter John Krinjak asked Slayton why he chose to limit himself to straight couples who hadn’t divorced.
“The bottom line is that we see that children are better off when their mother and father live with them in the same house,” Slayton said.
Equality Texas CEO Ricardo Martinez calls the bill homophobic, saying he is shocked but not surprised.
“I think there’s a point where the anti-LGBTQ and transgender dislike becomes a kind of full-blown creepy obsession,” Martinez said.
He says he’s more concerned about the message he’s sending.
“I’m just concerned about the stigma that continues to perpetuate,” Martinez said. “And that leads to an increase in bullying, harassment, violence.”
Dr. Eddie Carder, professor of constitutional law at Prairie View A&M, says the bill is clearly in conflict with marriage equality.
“A person has the right to marry a person of his choice, regardless of gender. And this bill is contrary to the ruling of the Supreme Court,” Carder said. “It is difficult to imagine any circumstances under which this particular bill would have constitutional power at the state or even at the federal level.”
“We can have that discussion and they can discuss it in court,” Slayton said.
It’s possible the bill could be changed in committee to please a wider group of Republicans, but Martinez is confident most Texans will oppose it.
“If someone with this much power is really signaling to our community that we’re not good enough by deliberately removing us from the conversation, I think it goes against what Texans believe,” Martinez said. “And it’s embarrassing.
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