Property Taxes on the Block
What to know: At TPPF’s annual Texas Policy Summit, Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to deliver property tax relief to Texans in the new legislative session.
The TPPF take: It’s time to get a handle on our oversized property taxes.
“Despite all previous efforts to reverse course, property taxes remain the largest tax assessed in Texas,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “One reason why local tax revenues may be elevated is that local governments generally lack any sort of expenditure limit. Without any meaningful expenditure restraint, local tax revenues likely bear some additional upward pressure to provide for the governments’ spending appetite.”
For more on property taxes, click here.
In the Soil
What to know: Johnson County, Texas has declared an emergency as deadly “forever chemicals” have contaminated farms and ranches in the area.
The TPPF take: Where are they coming from? Human waste.
“Decades ago, biosolids were introduced as an environmentally sustainable way of recycling human waste during the treatment process, to convert it into a nutrient-dense fertilizer,” explains TPPF’s David Dunmoyer. “Rep. Helen Kerwin filed House Bill 1674 and Sen. Kevin Sparks filed Senate Bill 886 to prevent biosolids manufacturers from pumping toxic sludge into Texas farmlands. Simply, these bills require companies to test their product monthly and bars them from distributing biosolids if they contain toxic levels of forever chemicals.”
For more on PFAs, click here.
Criminal Cartels
What to know: Eight criminal cartels have been designated as foreign terror organizations by the Trump administration.
The TPPF take: The cartels operate as terrorist organizations.
“While Washington elites fret over diplomacy and stability, tens of thousands of Americans are dying from fentanyl poisoning every year,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “This crisis is directly fueled by cartels operating with impunity in Mexico and with material, financial and intelligence support from China. These criminal organizations are no different from Middle Eastern terrorist groups like ISIS or Hezbollah.”
For more on FTO designations, click here.