Bob Dylan said it best: “For the times they are a-changin.’” It used to be that cities had their way at the Texas Capitol. By wielding local control as a cudgel, city officials and their favorite trade association expertly advanced their agenda and killed any bills that threatened their power or revenue. But no longer....
It’s over. Monday concludes the 86th regular session, meaning that it’s time for lawmakers to go home and for the public to grade their work. So let’s take stock of the good, the bad and the unfinished of the last 140 days. Assuming deals hold and no vetoes happen, the best thing to come out...
With a little help from the Local & Consent Calendars Committee, the Texas House could be getting ready to help make local elections more transparent. There’s a bill currently pending in committee—Senate Bill 1229—that would require local officials to post a lot more information online. If the bill gets out of committee and is approved...
Like a parent preparing to discipline unruly children, the Texas Legislature is getting ready to rein in local governments on everything from taxation to regulation to annexation and more. And city officials are none too happy about it. The latest high-profile flare-up came courtesy of Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who used his State of the...
Have you heard about the small South Texas school district that built a $20 million water park using state tax dollars? Or that this same school district lost almost $250,000 in the park’s first year up-and-running? Or that it also owns a golf course and that also ran a deficit last year of $300,000? Well,...
La Joya ISD is back in the news again, and not for good reason. Many of us learned recently that the small, underperforming district spent $20 million to build a water park—and that a lot of that funding came from state taxpayers. It was also discovered that the district lost roughly $250,000 running the park...
If the 86th legislative session were a football game, then the home team — the Texas Tax Reformers, of course — is battling back, with two minutes to go, and there’s a chance for overtime. The good news, at least, is that they have the ball and they’re driving. With almost every homeowner cheering them...
Forced annexation appears headed for the dustbin of history. Prior to 2017, Texas cities could unilaterally poach property just outside their official boundaries. The conscripted property owners were usually forced to swallow higher taxes, tougher regulations, and old public debts. That didn’t sit well with a lot of folks, including a big, bipartisan group of...
Former President John Adams once said: “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.” Adams’ sage advice carries a special meaning as we celebrate Sunshine Week 2019. Sunshine Week is a time set aside for educating the public about the importance of open government and the dangers of sustained secrecy. This year’s theme...
Property taxes in Texas have skyrocketed over the last two decades. But state lawmakers may be getting ready to finally rein them in. Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen recently unveiled a historic property tax reform package and announced that identical bills — Senate Bill 2 and House Bill...
When property tax reform—embodied in Senate Bill 2 and its companion, House Bill 2—comes before the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, local governments and their lobbyists will be out in force to testify against it. Many expect a repeat performance of what transpired in a packed Senate committee hearing earlier this month, with...
City governments need to get back to the basics. Instead of focusing on the fundamentals, too many city councils — especially in large urban areas — are playing politics in areas where they don’t belong. As Sen. Donna Campbell recently put it: “City officials need to get their nose out of the private sector and...