Good morning!

You probably won’t be surprised to know yesterday’s One Click Survey – pitting legislative efforts for one-time property tax relief against eliminating property taxes – generated a flood of interest.

Check out the survey results, and a sampling of responses, at the end of today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, September 22, 2021
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Senate Map

• Every region in the state will see Texas Senate boundaries move under a proposed map that will serve as the starting point for debate in that chamber during this third special session of the Legislature, reports Jeramy Kitchen.
   
• The key takeaway from the proposed Senate map seems to be that it generally works to shore up what have previously been competitive districts for Republicans by taking some of the populations from the currently strongest Republican districts and making them slightly weaker, while also reinforcing some districts currently represented by Democrats in their favor.
   
• Check out his article for a side-by-side comparison of the current lines and the new maps. There will be public hearings on the Senate maps Friday and Saturday of this week.

• Over the next several weeks, lawmakers must draw representational boundaries for 38 U.S. congressional districts (which include two more than the last redistricting cycle), 31 state Senate districts, 150 state House districts, and 15 State Board of Education districts.
   

• Almost undoubtedly, approved maps will be subject to immediate lawsuits. Notable, however, is that for the first time in more than 50 years Texas is not subject to additional federal scrutiny under a process known as “preclearance.”
    

• The timing by which the maps are finally approved is important as well. During the second called special legislative session, lawmakers passed legislation that would allow for delayed candidate filing periods and primary elections depending on the final disposition of redistricting maps.

Property Tax Relief Bill Advances

• On Tuesday, members of the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-0 to approve a temporary property tax relief measure. Erin Anderson has the details.
   
• “The basic tenet of this bill is this: If we have excess money, give it back to the taxpayers because they’re the ones who need it,” said the measure’s author, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston).
   

• State Sen. Kelly Hancock (R–North Richland Hills), a former school board member, said he didn’t want to see a repeat of what happened the last time the Legislature lowered school property tax rates. Back then, local school districts took advantage of the tax buy-down to significantly increase their debt, along with the taxes necessary to pay that debt—leaving taxpayers with little or no actual relief.
   

• State Sen. Charles Perry (R–Lubbock) proposed amending SB 1 to lower the current tax rate limit that can fund school debt, calling it important to limit school districts’ ability “to play games” with the various tax rates they levy.
   

• “Cap their ability to spend [in law],” said Perry. “The policy aspect of that is it may keep them from putting travertine tile in the football stadiums’ restrooms.”
   

• Perry and other senators said they want to see a more permanent solution for school taxpayers.
   

• Rod Bordelon, a tax policy director at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, testified in support of SB 1 but said TPPF has a plan to permanently eliminate school M&O taxes over time. (The school M&O tax represents 50 percent or more of most Texans’ property tax burden.)

Pro-Transparency School Board Members Face Censure

• Last week, Texas Scorecard reported on Round Rock ISD’s refusal to allow citizens to enter a board of trustees meeting where the district was considering its tax rate for the 2022 fiscal year. It is alleged that this was a violation of the Open Meetings Act. The story became more disturbing last Friday night when the school board had two citizen activists arrested.
      
• As Adam Cahn and Robert Montoya report, the saga is taking an even more curious turn that could lead to the censure of two pro-transparency board members. At last week’s meeting, the RRISD board used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to limit the number of citizens who could attend – where extending the district mask mandate and raising taxes were on the agenda.
     
• “This rule was implemented to silence community members,” said Jeremy Story, who was among the citizens blocked by RRISD police from entering the board meeting. 
   
• Now, members of the board are targeting Trustees Mary Bone and Danielle Weston, who disagreed with the board’s decision to restrict citizen access and left the meeting in protest.
   
• The censure discussion and vote is expected at the Round Rock ISD school board meeting tonight.

Low Values

• In the latest edition of his podcast, Luke Macias addresses the unwillingness of Gov. Greg Abbott to address an issue supported by 95 percent of Republican primary voters: protecting children from coerced gender transition, chemical castration, and genital mutilation.
     
• Yet, Macias notes the state’s largest “family policy group” – Texas Values – is promoting Abbott as the keynote speaker for their annual event, and relentlessly praising him, even though he has been inactive on such a major family-oriented issue. Macias asks: “Why would [Abbott] ever feel the need to address the issue?”

Y’All Answered

In yesterday’s One Click Survey we asked if lawmakers should focus on providing a slight one-time reduction in property taxes, or work to put Texas on a path toward eliminating them.

Texas Minute readers want to see lawmakers working to eliminate property taxes; 96.3 percent want Texas on a path toward elimination, while 3.7 percent say they would be satisfied with a one-time reduction.

• “You’ve got both [gubernatorial candidate] Don Huffines AND the Texas Public Policy [Foundation] with real plans to permanently get rid of property taxes without new taxes, but legislators want to argue over a meaningless pittance? Count me as ‘disgusted’ with Greg Abbott and the rest of them.” – Sebastian Torres
       
• “There is no reason in these days with all of the money already available and all of the future money coming into the state's coffers why they shouldn't be able to both balance the budget AND eliminate property taxes.” – Walter Bowen
      
• “A one-time $100 tax reduction is a waste of time and resources.  It might give some legislators something to brag about in the next campaign, but does nothing to relieve the property tax burden for Texans who are suffering.  Property taxes must be eliminated.” – Fran Rhodes
      
• “Private property is the bedrock of Liberty. It is also the 1st thing Communists have historically removed. To allow a representative government to own our property through rent via taxation is obscene and reprehensible.” – Rod Dixon
      

• “Taxes aren’t the biggest problem; spending is!” – Jack Boteler     

• “With today's current property taxes, a homeowner who has a paid in full home still has a large payment every month.” – Jim Hughes
      
• “This was an easy question to answer.  It's not even close.  Shoot, I'd  *PAY*  $100 to get the legislature to ‘work [hard] to eliminate property taxes.’” – Neville Newman
       
• “A $100 property tax cut is an insult, why bother. I don’t see the state going to total elimination of property taxes either. We need fiscal responsibility and manageable property taxes in Texas. We should not be in the same overburdened property tax group with those BLUE states.” – Steve Crevier
       
• “I do not want the elimination to lead to a ‘replacement tax.’  It should lead to a concurrent reduction in spending.  I’m thinking subsidies, incentives, etc. would be a great place to start.” – Bob McCleskey
      
• “No temporary fix is as good as a permanent fix. They need to begin as soon as possible to totally eliminate property taxes.” – Reed Vestral
      
• “I think when you tax an entity to the breaking point, to pay for another entity that has no point, that is Tyranny.” – Gene Klutts
       
• “$100 in tax relief is an insult!” – Doreen Cardenas
       
• “Do they seriously think $100 will help anyone? That will not even cover the grocery bill or the fuel bill for a week or two. Talk about a symbolic action that they can tout at election time but that does not benefit the constituents!” – Ginger Platt
     
• “I clicked 'give 100 now' only because something needs to be done and I'd rather see something done now than start something that will take many sessions to iron out.” – Thomas Camardo
       
• “Give me $100 AND ‘work’ on elimination.” – Steve Sullivan
       
• “Giving a $100.00 now in tax relief is like putting a bandaid on a flooding dam!!” – Cindy Kelly
       
• “My oh my, here we go again! How about I send $100 to you legislators to buy coffee for everyone, sit down around the round table, and get some real tax relief instead of a band-aid?” – John Denison
      
• “We need long term property tax relief, not a $100 temporary relief. Really, would that even make a difference to homeowners if their taxes are over $6000 a year? With prices of gas and groceries going up, $100 savings amounts to just about nothing. These politicians need to do better. We demand it!’” – Cathy Blake
       
• “Do something real or admit that you can't/won't.” – Melynda Caudle
       
• “Any plan to eliminate property taxes will absolutely require a plan to rein in spending.  The first goal is noble; the second is necessary for survival as a state.” – Olli Coker
      
• “The legislature needs to provide elimination of property taxes so that homeowners can truly OWN their homes. Paying property taxes on the home means you never own it. One hundred dollars in a one time ‘discount’ is like someone passing gas into a hurricane's winds.” – Harry Hingst
       
• “Why is there no outrage with being thrown $100 from the elites like we are begging peasants? We need real tax relief that makes a difference. Sometimes fighting for more and getting nothing is better than getting something.” – Mark Grano
       
• “I own my land, not the State of Texas. Quit spending our tax dollars wildly, and quit over taxing Texas Residents!” – Reid Davidson

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