Friday’s House calendar features HB 2785 by Rep. Ken Paxton, which would cut school property tax rates by an additional nine cents on top of the 50 cents passed during last year’s special session.The Foundation testified in favor of this bill when it was in front of the House Public Education Committee. Earlier this week, the Foundation circulated longer-term budget projections that showed not only that Texas will have a multi-billion dollar cash balance after passing HB 2785 and HB 735 (the repeal of the TIF phone tax), but that the Legislature would return in 2009 to an even larger cash balance than it will finish this session if it doesn’t.Byron Schlomach and Talmadge Heflin are also explaining this issue to talk radio audiences across the state. Yesterday, Heflin appeared on KSEV-AM in Houston, KFYO-AM in Lubbock, and KURV-AM in Edinburg. Today, Schlomach will appear on BizRadio (1320 AM in Houston, 1360 AM in Dallas) at 7:20 a.m., and on the Lynn Woolley Show (www.BeLogical.com) at 9:30 a.m; Heflin will be on KWEL-AM in Midland at 7:30 a.m., and on KRLD-AM in the Metroplex at 2:07 p.m.
Don’t Fence Me In: Tourism’s Role in Rural Economic Development
Editor’s Note: This is the latest part of a series on rural Texas and the challenges that rural Texans face. Over the next year, the Associated News Service will delve into the issues facing the Lone Star State’s 177 (out of 254) rural counties. AMARILLO—If you want to fall in love all over again with...