When weighing in on issues like property taxes, the main interest group representing cities has encountered skepticism.

State leaders are pushing a plan to drive down property taxes using revenue from a one-cent increase to the sales tax. They have said the plan would result in roughly $250 a year in savings on a $200,000 home.

The revision was made in the House. But the high-priority property tax bill is expected to head to a conference committee, where negotiations could change or remove the provision.

One of the Legislature’s priority property tax reform bills, Senate Bill 2, was approved by the House on a 107-40 margin Tuesday. More than 20 Democratic lawmakers broke party ranks to support the measure.

The House approved the bill designed to slow local property tax revenue growth, but made the bill contingent on the passage of a school finance bill, which is still pending in the Senate.

A House panel lowered the Senate's cap on how much school property taxes can grow without voter approval, a move billed as symbol more than substance.

After a key Republican holdout agreed to bring a priority bill to the floor, the upper chamber increased an election trigger on revenue increases from 2.5% to 3.5%. But now both chambers must reconcile how they want to tackle rising school district taxes.

House leadership plans to hold a floor vote on Monday. Meanwhile, the Senate is looking for one more vote to bring the priority measure to the floor.

The medical school reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

How would lawmakers' proposals to provide property tax relief affect tax bills? It depends on where you live and what kind of home you own.

A little-known and ill-defined provision in state statute offers big tax breaks to landowners who host university research on their property. Two lawmakers are trying — again — to close the "loophole."

The vote, called around 1 a.m., was 8-3. The lone Democrat who voted in support of the new measure was state Rep. Ryan Guillen, the vice chair of the committee.

The House Ways & Means Committee is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday.

Supporters of the provision, known as equity appeals, say it's valuable for all property owners and stops taxing units from imposing unfair taxes.

Hall led a heated battle to reform the school's admissions procedures, which led to reforms in 2015. But after a UT tennis coach was accused of taking a bribe to help a student gain admission, Hall says more needs to be done.

University President Greg Fenves announced the firing in an email and said, "The integrity of UT admissions is essential to our mission as a research university and to the students and families we serve."

Hospital leaders say restrictions on their property tax revenue growth could force them to scale back services.

The announcement, made in an internal email, is part of a new but expected wave of cuts aimed at trimming the system's overhead.

Committee chairs from both chambers unveiled the proposal on Thursday.

State Rep. Dustin Burrows, author of the House bill, said the House Ways and Means Committee is "not just trying to get something across the finish line as quick as we can."