In a resounding victory against attempts to curtail property rights, Texas Senator Paul Bettencourt's groundbreaking disannexation bill, SB 2038, has advanced, granting property owners the authority to exit municipal extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs). Despite staunch opposition, the bill's passage represents a significant stride towards empowering taxpayers and safeguarding property rights.
High property tax rates have become an important issue in the State of Texas, in particular with the midterm election coming up on Nov. 8. Both candidates for Governor, incumbent Greg Abbott and challenger Beto O'Rourke have promised action on this issue to lower the financial burden to Texas homeowners. In 12 of Texas' most populated counties, including Montgomery County, the median effective property tax rate is higher than the statewide figure.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is taking aim at property taxes as the state of Texas could face rate increases of up to 50% this year, but a recent report by the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association reports that it very well could have been even worse.
Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently released a report show that Texas teachers received significant pay raises for the 2019-2020 school year.
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $27.8 million Teacher and School Leader Incentive grant to Harmony Public Schools to be used to train, equip, and retain effective school leaders statewide.
Harris County Commissioners and County Judge Lina Hidalgo recently approved the Small Business Recovery Fund, a $30 million program designed to assist small businesses that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and have been unable to secure financial assistance from other similar relief programs.
The City of Shenandoah is planning to cut budget requests from the City Council in response to a decline in the city’s generated revenue due to the COVID-19 shutdown.