Longview Times

Rep. Trent Ashby introduced HB 2553, a bill on Education and Taxation, to the Texas House on Monday, March 17 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.

More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’Relating to certain ad valorem tax-related studies conducted by the comptroller of public accounts’’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

This bill mandates changes to the criteria for an "eligible school district" regarding ad valorem tax-related studies conducted by the Texas comptroller. It specifies that a district's local value must be deemed invalid in the most recent study, but not exceed the state value, and must have been considered valid in the two previous studies. Additionally, the local value of all sampled property categories must be at least 90% of the lower limit of the margin of error for the aggregate property value. The bill also requires the comptroller to annually prepare a report summarizing the findings of limited-scope reviews of appraisal districts, including the number of reviews, recommendations, and any necessary information. These amendments apply to studies and reviews for tax years starting on or after Jan. 1, 2026. The act takes effect Sept. 1, 2025.

Trent Ashby, chair of the House Committee on S/C on Academic & Career-Oriented Education and member of the House Committee on Public Education, proposed no more bills during the 89(R) legislative session.

Ashby graduated from Texas A&M University in 1996 with a BA.

Trent Ashby is currently serving in the Texas State House, representing the state's 9th House district. He replaced previous state representative Chris Paddie in 2023.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.