SB 1026 Testimony before the Senate Committee on Property Tax

April 2, 2019

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.

As introduced, SB 1026 requires all propositions that seek voter approval for the issuance of bonds or other debt to be submitted on the uniform election date in November. The bill allows for emergency elections to be held on any uniform election date.

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Examining Local Government Spending Trends From 2014 to 2023

City and county spending has outpaced growth in population and inflation, leading to an increase in the tax burden on Texan taxpayers. Key points: Local government spending continues to outstrip increases in both population and inflation. From 2014 to 2023, local government spending rose by 61.2%, whereas population and inflation increased by only 42.7%. Elevated...

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The Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently updated its superintendent salary database, revealing some intriguing new information about the take-home pay for public education elites. According to TEA’s 2025-26 dataset, there were 1,220 full- and part-time superintendent positions filled this year at 187 open-enrollment charter schools and 1,033 traditional school districts. For each of these positions, TEA provides select details, including ‘base pay’ and ‘total pay.’ Base pay is defined as “total payroll amount where payroll activity code is 80. (Does not include supplemental pay),”while...

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Austin’s rising utility fees are taxes by another name

Rising utility bills are one of many factors exacerbating Austin’s well-documented affordability crisis. When Austin utility bills went up last winter, many residents probably didn’t even notice — mostly because the increase in fees was hidden by reductions in other costs. But here’s the truth: The city of Austin is squeezing its customers more than they know....

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James Quintero

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