Will property tax cuts also include valuation reform?

Austin, Texas. With a record budget surplus providing the backbone, lowering property taxes is a talking point in Austin, especially among Republican lawmakers.

But state Rep. Craig Goldman says the question of what that relief looks like remains unanswered.

“We are all in favor of lowering property taxes. We know this is one of the biggest complaints our constituents talk to us about every single day. We feel it too. But we have to make it sustainable,” Goldman told us. Inside Texas Politics.

The Fort Worth Republican says it doesn’t make sense to cut Texans’ property taxes for a year or two only to raise it again a year or two later.

And since many homeowners won’t even feel the real estate tax cut as their homes continue to rise in value, Goldman says valuation reform is likely to be on the table as well.

But he warns that it’s still early.

“We’re at the start of the session and so many bills have already been filed and people are like, ‘Oh my gosh, look at this bill that’s been filed, you know I can’t believe it, or go bill, go — when you don’t know if it’s going to be a hearing at all,” he said.