The growth of municipal property taxes has steadily increased over the past twenty years, fast outpacing population and inflation growth. Although the Texas Legislature has provided cities with a tool to lessen the tax burden on residents — allowing cities to exempt up to 20 percent or $5,000 of the value of a homestead residence from municipal taxation — many cities have not yet made use of this permissive tool. Thus, the following ordinance gives practical effect to the Legislature’s homestead exemption.
Ranked-Choice Voting: Overview and Model Legislation
The movement to adopt ranked-choice voting as a system for elections has been growing throughout the nation. It is a complex method of voting that has a disenfranchising effect and violates the “one person, one vote” doctrine. Key Points: Ranked-choice voting is slow, confusing, and complex. RCV violates the one person, one vote doctrine. RCV...