How Does Texas’ Local Debt Compare?

February 6, 2017

James Quintero

James Quintero is the policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Government for the People campaign. Since joining the Foundation in 2008, Quintero has focused extensively on: state & local government spending, taxes, debt, public pension reform, annexation, and local regulations.

Answer: Quite poorly.

According to the Bond Review Board’s latest annual report, Texas’ local debt per capita ($8,350) ranks as the 2^nd highest amount owed among the top ten most populous states. Only New York’s per capita amount ($10,646) ranked higher in the latest ratings.

In terms of the aggregate amount owed by Texas’ local governments ($225.1 B), that also ranked as the second highest total. Only California’s local governments owed more on the whole ($268.1 B).

With the size and growth of local debt continuing to pose a major threat to the Texas Model, it’s critical that lawmakers achieve significant reform this session, i.e. educating voters at the ballot box, reforming certificates of obligation, putting constraints on rolling polling, require bond elections to take place in November, and require political subdivisions to separate ballot propositions for voters on capital improvements above a certain size to name a few. Reforms like these are vital to protecting today’s taxpayers and tomorrow’s Texans.

Source: Texas Bond Review Board, Annual Report for Fiscal 2016 (Ch. 1 – Pg. 9)

James Quintero

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