Reporting on Texas property taxes -- appraisals and protests, school and local tax rates, exemptions, bond elections, and the rewrite of the school funding formulas.
Amarillo told its residents in August that the coming city budget would raise $1,596,402 more in property taxes than last year's, an increase of 1.94 percent.
The Texas House Committee on Ways and Means meets at 10 a.m. Sept. 15 to take testimony on how local governments spend and borrow, and on whether the Legislature should cap the growth of both.
A data investigation into the Harris County certified appraisal roll has revealed widespread vulnerabilities in how Texas manages its primary residential tax break.
The Houston City Council has approved a $7.5 billion municipal budget that reclassifies residential trash collection as a municipal utility, adds a new monthly fee to water bills, and charges the city's own water system to use public rights of way.
During an appearance on the Texas Talks podcast with host Brad Swail, State Representative Mitch Little (R-Lewisville) voiced support for a state-level check on local prosecutors and detailed market-based approaches to address rural attorney shortages.
Austin attorney and former Travis County Judge Bill Aleshire joined the Taxpayer Empowerment podcast to critique the financial evolution and legal standing of Project Connect, Austin's multi-billion dollar transit initiative.
The Texas Supreme Court has revived a lawsuit by Willacy County property owners challenging a decades-old property tax that was originally approved by voters in 1974 to serve individuals with disabilities, but has instead financed a regional magnet school system for more than 40 years.
Governor Greg Abbott released the "2026 Report to the People of Texas" on May 6, 2026, a biennial publication that summarizes the state's major accomplishments and outlines legislative and executive priorities for the year ahead.
Yesterday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his reelection campaign.
Senator Paul Bettencourt has announced the filing of Senate Bill 2519, a legislative proposal designed to bolster taxpayer and voter protections in Texas.
A new financing strategy for long-term capital projects in Texas was a topic of discussion at Texas Public Policy Foundation Policy Summit.
On Monday, August 26th, attorneys representing seven Austin taxpayers filed a class action lawsuit against the Austin City Council. The lawsuit seeks to stop the collection of property tax revenue for Austin’s $7.1 billion light-rail project, known as Project Connect. The project has come under scrutiny since changes were made in June 2023.
On Monday, the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) will appear in the Travis County District Court to ask a judge to validate $150 million of a total $5 billion dollar bond package for Austin’s light rail project called Project Connect. There has been some controversy over the details of the plan, including opposition from Dirty Martin’s, a 98-year-old burger joint in the path of the proposed rail line and its supporters.
During the 88th legislative session, Senator Paul Bettencourt (SD-7) authored a bill which sought to address the City of Austin’s novel financing mechanism for its $7 billion light rail project.