House passes property tax reform bill; other bills now moving

House Speaker Joe Straus hears a point of order made which caused a postponement of property tax reform legislation on the floor of the House. House Speaker Joe Straus hears a point of order made which caused a postponement of property tax reform legislation on the floor of the House. Photo: Tom Reel, Staff Photo: Tom Reel, Staff Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close House passes property tax reform bill; other bills now moving 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN -- The Texas House on Monday approved a property tax reform bill after a lengthy debate, apparently breaking a deadlock the day before that had stalled the approval of other key legislation.

The House approved its version of Senate Bill 1 that features a provision allowing voters to have a say in any tax hikes that are 6 percent or higher.

The House immediately moved to debate, and likely pass, Senate Bill 16 that will establish a special commission to reform school funding patterns in Texas.

The Senate, which will come back into session at 4 p.m., is expected to now move ahead to approve several bills that had been held up Sunday after the House delayed its debate and approval of Senate Bill 1, according to lawmakers involved in the negotiations over final approval of the bills.