Texas politics is colliding with national politics in the state legislature’s ongoing special sessions. The greatest tension is over redistricting, according to State Representative Cody Vasut, a conservative representing Brazoria County who chairs the Redistricting Committee.
“There is a perceived threat to Democratic power,” he says. “I don’t necessarily fault them for being concerned about losing political power in their mind. Vasut says he was surprised to learn how California, Illinois, and New York have “pushed the envelope” on redistricting in their own states. The moves have helped produce what Vasut estimates is a 14-seat advantage for Democrats in Congress. “Texas has been fighting on a national level for representation in Congress with a hand tied behind our back.”
Vasut also points to concerns Senate Bill 3, later refiled as SB 5 relating to hemp-derived THC. “Whether it’s minors accessing these products, or products that are not labeled correctly, or products that are technically illegal” but avoid regulations, “it’s a concern,” he says. “Most of us were shocked to learn the extent to which a low dose THC gummy was being taken by people for pain management.”
Vasut predicts there will be “robust debate” between a ban and a regulatory regime to govern hemp. “I am leaning more towards the regulatory side,” he says.
Vasut suggests treating hemp like alcohol or tobacco, with controlled access. “You have a screen at the door as opposed to the gas station where everybody can go in,” he says. “An outright ban, maybe we’re concerned with that.”
High property taxes are also a concern for many legislators, according to Vasut, who calls them “the worst form of taxation.” He said when talking with constituents, “I ask a crowd of 500 people, raise your hand if you love the property tax system in Texas,” resulting in no one raising their hand. “You don’t want to have to pay taxes on something that appreciates until you sell it, because otherwise you’re being taxed on an unrealized gain,” he says.
He says the current system can feel like “renting your home” from the government. “If you’re under the age of 65 and not subject to a deferment, potentially your house could be foreclosed on,” he says.
In Vasut’s view, Texas should ”have a more aggressive dialog about eliminating, in whole or in part, the property tax system.”
A better approach in his view would be to lock in appraisals at the purchase price, indexed to inflation and population growth. Under this system, “at least you don’t have to fight your appraisal every single year,” he says. Instead, he envisions alternatives such as sales taxes, value-added taxes, or other revenue models.
“Until you have a serious effort” by the legislature, Vasut says, the system cannot change. He advocates an approach in which the entire property tax code is repealed in ten years. “Then you either reenact it or less of it, but you have to take that vote.”