Higher and Higher
What to know: School taxes in many districts are going up this year, even as many districts are educating fewer students.
The TPPF take: We have a plan to cut property taxes nearly in half.
“Texas lawmakers now have an opportunity to ease the burden on property owners—our plan would cut property taxes nearly in half over time, by eliminating school district maintenance and operations (M&O) taxes,” says TPPF’s Vance Ginn. “We get there by holding down spending growth and using surplus taxpayer dollars at the state level to buy down those school district M&O property taxes over time.”
For more on our plan, click here.
It’s in the Mail
What to know: Gov. Greg Abbott recently pointed out that “Voter fraud takes place ‘in abundance’ with absentee balloting in Texas,” citing the case Veasey v. Perry.
The TPPF take: Texans want the same voter ID requirements for mail-in ballots as we have for in-person voting.
“It’s not about making it harder to vote,” says TPPF’s Chad Ennis. “Americans already believe that voting is easy or very easy (94%), and more than 80% broadly support measures improving election security. Texans believe that these measures won’t make it harder to vote, just harder to cheat.”
For more on election protection, click here.
Police and Thieves
What to know: An increase in murders has led Austin citizens to defy their city council’s “defunding” movement and petition to put an increase in police officers on the ballot in November.
The TPPF take: The Austin City Council might not get it, but Texans know we need the police.
“I am optimistic that the pendulum will swing the other way,” says TPPF’s Randy Petersen. “The anti-police crowd and the politicians who threw in with them will face a reckoning in future elections as voters and citizens see defunding and anti-police sentiments for the dangerous ideologies that they are.”
For more on policing, click here.