Hit the Brakes
What to know: Attorney General Ken Paxton recently informed 130 different cities “that they are prohibited from raising [property] taxes above the no-new-revenue tax rate,” after determining those entities failed to comply with new state auditing requirements (SB 1851).
The TPPF take: City officials don’t get to pick and choose which state laws to follow.
“The rule of law is not optional. And if municipalities refuse to follow the law, then they risk the consequences, which now includes taking a time-out from raising taxes,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “Accountability matters.”
For more on local governance, click here.
Get Along, Little DOGE
What to know: Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration has launched a new website for the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, the Lone Star State’s version of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency).
The TPPF take: TREO’s early results suggest that it is poised to make a significant contribution to Texas’ limited government framework, once fully established.
“TREO’s achievements are Texas’ gains,” says TPPF’s Jose Melendez. “In only a short time, this innovative new division within the Governor’s office has examined 11 different agencies and identified nearly $125 million in potential savings. One can only imagine how much Texas taxpayers will save in time, money, and opportunity once all state agencies have come under review.”
For more on TREO, click here.
Death by Critical Race Theory
What to know: Two New York City women who were attacked by a repeat offender declined to press charges, saying they didn’t want to be responsible for another Black man going to jail. That man then murdered a retired school teacher by shoving her down a flight of stairs.
The TPPF take: This was death by critical race theory.
“The thinking of that poor, deluded young New Yorker (who had been repeatedly hit by Burke) appears to be driven by her likely indoctrination of Critical Race Theory, which describes incarceration as ‘the New Jim Crow,’” says TPPF’s Sherry Sylvester. “It’s too late for the murdered teacher, but it does appear to have been a teaching moment. One of the young women said she regretted not pressing charges after she learned of the street killing: ‘At some point, if you are a criminal, you’re a criminal.’”
For more on CRT, click here.