The Texas House passed out a version of property tax reform and guess what? After all the claims that this and that element had to be weakened to get enough Republican votes to pass, 26 Democrats went along to vote for property tax reform.
What this means is that there are enough votes to move the bill and in the conference with the Senate, in which they put the two differing bills together, we should insist that reps put the threshold which triggers a voter ratification election for tax increases back down to 2.5 percent where it started and ditch the much less effective 3.5 percent both chambers passed.
Also, the so-called five-year banking of unused revenue growth feature needs to be eliminated. All it does is allow spend-happy local officials to take a big bite out of your wallet all at once, without you getting a vote, and likely after having gotten re-elected by bragging that they didn’t raise property taxes very much the previous few years.
Reprobate state Rep. Charlie Geren’s poison pill amendment that requires you to use a lawyer for appraisal appeals must be stripped out as well.
You need to be hammering reps and senators immediately with calls, letters, and emails pushing for the 2.5% trigger and the stripping of spending exceptions that don’t count against the trigger.
And don’t forget that the House tied passage of property tax reform to the successful passing of the huge school finance bill that pours billions into the public school bureaucracies. That means a lot has to happen quickly to get it all done before the session ends. That’s why you need to push them hard to get it done.
Your pressure needed to fix property tax reform in conference
What this means is that there are enough votes to move the bill and in the conference with the Senate, in which they put the two differing bills together, we should insist that reps put the threshold which triggers a voter ratification election for tax increases back down to 2.5 percent where it started and ditch the much less effective 3.5 percent both chambers passed.
Also, the so-called five-year banking of unused revenue growth feature needs to be eliminated. All it does is allow spend-happy local officials to take a big bite out of your wallet all at once, without you getting a vote, and likely after having gotten re-elected by bragging that they didn’t raise property taxes very much the previous few years.
Reprobate state Rep. Charlie Geren’s poison pill amendment that requires you to use a lawyer for appraisal appeals must be stripped out as well.
You need to be hammering reps and senators immediately with calls, letters, and emails pushing for the 2.5% trigger and the stripping of spending exceptions that don’t count against the trigger.
And don’t forget that the House tied passage of property tax reform to the successful passing of the huge school finance bill that pours billions into the public school bureaucracies. That means a lot has to happen quickly to get it all done before the session ends. That’s why you need to push them hard to get it done.