The marquee proposal would increase the amount of a home’s value exemption from school taxes to $140,000 from $100,000. The legislation must win approval from the House next.
Joshua Fechter
Joshua Fechter is the Dallas-based urban affairs reporter for The Texas Tribune, covering policy — including housing affordability, housing and property taxes, evictions, policing and transportation — and politics in Texas' major metropolitan areas. Before joining the Tribune in August 2021, Joshua covered City Hall for the San Antonio Express-News. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
Posted in
Politics
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to set a high bar for local tax increases
Local officials, school advocates and tax policy experts said such a proposal could have dire impacts on basic services.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas Republicans want more property tax cuts. Here’s how they may do it.
Gov. Greg Abbott said cutting taxes is a top priority, however, state lawmakers don’t have as much money to plug into tax cuts as they did two years ago.
Posted in
Health care
Donald Trump’s push to freeze federal funds sparks confusion in Texas
Texas cities, counties, higher education institutions and nonprofits clambered Tuesday to gauge the potential fallout from the suspension, later blocked temporarily by a federal judge.
Posted in
Texas’ housing crisis
Austin rents have fallen for nearly two years. Here’s why.
A massive apartment building boom in the Austin-Round Rock region has driven rents downward, real estate experts and housing advocates have said.
Posted in
Demographics
How Fort Worth supplanted Austin as Texas’ top boomtown
The growth is fueling higher rents and home prices in the North Texas city that was once seen as a more affordable option to Dallas and other major cities.
Posted in
Politics
Some Texas business leaders are apprehensive about Trump’s pledged deportations
“We wouldn’t survive” without undocumented workers, one South Texas produce business owner said. By one estimate, 8% of Texas’ workforce lacks legal status.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas has a housing affordability crisis. Here’s how state lawmakers may tackle it in 2025.
A likely fight over how much power to take away from local governments may dominate the debate.
Posted in
Politics
Donald Trump picks Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta as ambassador to Italy
Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and Landry’s restaurant group, hosted a fundraiser for Trump earlier this year.
Posted in
Demographics
Texas is now home to 31 million people even as population growth slows
Texas added nearly 563,000 residents within the last year, new U.S. Census Bureau estimates show.
