Send the Surplus Home: Texas Bills Aim School Tax at Zero

Austin keeps ending up with more of your money than it planned on. Two new bills say send it back. Not as a check. As a smaller school tax bill, every year, until that tax hits zero.

Plain English summary

On November 10, 2026, two Texas House bills were filed with the same caption: "Relating to reducing school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes through the use of certain surplus state revenue." (FACT, HB 1040 bill history, HB 1065 bill history)

HB 1040 is by State Rep. Shaheen. HB 1065 is by State Rep. Virdell. (FACT, HB 1040 text, HB 1065 text)

Both bills do the same basic thing.

They take surplus state general revenue and put 90 percent of it into the state's property tax relief fund. That money can only go to the Texas Education Agency to buy down school district maintenance and operations taxes. (FACT, Sec. 2 of each bill, amending Government Code Sec. 403.109)

Every year, the education commissioner would have to push the state compression percentage as low as that money allows. (FACT, Sec. 1, new Education Code Sec. 48.255(d))

And if that percentage ever reaches zero, school districts could no longer levy a tier one maintenance and operations tax. Not that year. Not any year after. The state would fund each district as if it had collected its full compressed rate, with no local share. (FACT, Sec. 1, new Sec. 48.255(e))

Where the two bills split

The difference is how they define "surplus."

HB 1040 counts general revenue above 104 percent of what the state took in the biennium before. Ninety percent of everything over that line goes to the fund. (FACT, HB 1040 Sec. 2)

HB 1065 counts general revenue above what the state could spend under the growth limit on appropriations set under Government Code Sec. 316.005. Ninety percent of that goes to the fund. Once the fund covers all tier one school M&O taxes, any extra can be spent on other things. (FACT, HB 1065 Sec. 2)

Both take effect September 1, 2027. Both first apply to the state budget period that starts September 1, 2029. (FACT, Sec. 3 and 4 of each bill)

Why it matters

Your school tax is usually the biggest line on your property tax bill.

Every session, Austin spends billions buying that rate down. Then the next session starts the fight over again.

These bills put the buy down on autopilot. Surplus in, school tax down. No special session. No victory lap. Just a formula.

For East Texas families on fixed incomes, a rule beats a promise.

The receipt

HB 1040 bill history and introduced text. HB 1065 bill history and introduced text. Both filed 11/10/2026. Both still at "Filed." No committee. No hearing. No vote. (FACT, Texas Legislature Online)

What Ryan says

RYAN STATEMENT: Here is how I see it. If the state has a surplus, it is because it took too much. That is your money first.

RYAN STATEMENT: I like a bill that ties the government's hands. A formula does not care who is running for what.

RYAN STATEMENT: Two bills, same goal, two different triggers. Good. Put them side by side in committee and pick the one that actually moves the needle.

RYAN STATEMENT: My question is the same one I always ask. Show me the math. How many dollars land in that fund in a normal year? How many years until a family in Longview or Marshall sees that school M&O line go to zero? The fiscal note should answer that, out loud, before the vote.

What this does not prove

It does not prove your property taxes go to zero.

These bills reach the tier one school M&O tax only. They do not mention city, county, college, or hospital district taxes. They do not mention the school debt tax that pays off bonds. Those would still be on your bill. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE from the bill text)

It does not prove there will be a surplus. The fund fills only when revenue runs above the trigger. In a lean budget, it could get little or nothing. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE from the bill text)

It does not prove either bill passes. They were just filed. No fiscal note has been posted yet that I can find.

What it does prove

Two House members put in writing a path to end the tier one school M&O tax for good.

They tied it to a formula, not a campaign speech.

And they wrote in a hard stop: once that tax hits zero, it stays gone.

The bottom line

Surplus is not a gift from Austin. It is overpayment.

These bills say the overpayment goes back where it came from.

Read them. Ask your representative which one they back. Then ask for the math.

This is the record.

Do not threaten anyone. Do not harass anyone. Do not contact anyone in my name. Read it. Share it. Send receipts, evidence, witnesses. Put eyes on the record.