With a number of tax structure modification alternatives are under consideration by policymakers in Texas, one alternative is to fund a property tax reduction with an increase in the sales tax. The size of the property tax reduction being discussed is about 50% of the current levy for school maintenance and operations, or $8.5 billion in 2005. The tax change is reviewed from the perspective of several recognized characteristics of good tax policy. This paper analyzes five alternative formulations (scenarios) of the tax shift according to various sales tax rate and sales tax base-broadening options.
Higher Education
Safe Schools and Fair Standards
Safe Schools and Fair Standards Key points: Texas’s higher education code is not aligned with Supreme Court precedent on the correct standards for defining harassment. Texas statute does not define what makes conduct “severe,” “persistent,” or “pervasive.” The existing legal framework should remain intact but needs updated definitions that protect both free speech and students...
September 28, 2026