Reform of the Texas homeowners’ insurance market in 2003 called for a file-and-use regulatory system. However, in 2009, the Sunset Advisory Commission’s Staff Report on the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) rightly concluded that the “Legislature cannot judge the success of the shift to file-and-use rate regulation because the system has not been fully implemented.” Conditions have little improved since the report was issued.
Eliminating the School M&O Property Tax
Texas has some of the highest property taxes in the nation. In 2014, the Tax Foundation reported that Texas had the sixth highest effective property tax rate. In 2016, more than 5,100 local tax jurisdictions levied $56.1 billion in property taxes, or $2,000 on average for every Texan—man, woman, and child. And property taxes continue...