I want to congratulate Senator Paul Bettencourt for being named National Legislator of the Year by one of the biggest and most influential legislative organizations in the nation, the American Legislative Exchange Council, for authoring the biggest property tax cut in American history.

Paul and I have worked on this issue long before we were elected to the Senate. The average homeowner will see a school tax cut of about 40%. The 18 billion dollar tax cut includes a $100,000 homestead exemption, $110,000 for seniors. The Senate stood united to include the homestead exemption in any tax cut.

Congratulations to my friend of 30 years.