Rising property values in Texas should have lowered school property tax rates. But they didn’t, and you can thank the folks who write the state budget for that.
budget
Posted in
State Government
Analysis: Austin, Texas, and Washington, D.C., literally out of sync
Changes in federal policy during the coming Trump administration could mean big changes in state policy in Texas. But it’s probably going to take some time.
Posted in
Economy
Texas lawmakers set a spending cap they likely won’t reach
The Legislative Budget Board picked 8 percent as the growth rate in the state’s two-year budget, capping how much lawmakers can spend in next year’s legislative session. Lawmakers say the state doesn’t have enough money to reach that cap.
Posted inState Government
Analysis: Cutting the Texas Budget, But Only Hypothetically
It’s routine for top state leaders to ask government agencies to tighten their belts, but don’t get the kooky idea that the state budget will shrink. This is just an exercise.
Posted in
State Government
State Leaders Ask Agencies to Cut Budgets by 4 Percent
Texas’ top elected officials are asking state agencies to scale back their budget requests by 4 percent, seeking to further rein in state spending for the 2018-2019 cycle.
Posted inState Government
Analysis: No Political Benefit if Voters Can’t Feel Property Tax Relief
Texas lawmakers want to get a leash on property taxes, which requires them to restrain local governments. The local governments point to expensive state government mandates that drive up their costs. It’s hard to fix blame, or credit.
Posted in
Economy
Court OKs Limits on Hazlewood Tuition Program
Texas universities can deny free tuition to veterans who gained state residency only after enlisting in the military, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, a decision that could ease concerns about a prominent benefit program’s spiraling costs.
Posted in
Health care
Analysis: What the Numbers in the Texas Budget Really Mean
Numbers can give you a full accounting of something without telling you what’s really going on, like when lawmakers talk about trimming budgets and saving money while diverting attention from whatever fell on the cutting room floor.
Posted inState Government
Analysis: An Expense to Texas Taxpayers That Carries No Explanation
Should taxpayers pay severance to state employees to take the sting out of unexpected job losses or to protect the uncovered tails of the elected officeholders who fire them?
Posted in
Economy
Video: A Conversation about the State Budget
At our 4/29 symposium on the Texas economy, Ross Ramsey talked about the state budget and spending with state Sens. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, and Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, and state Reps. John Otto, R-Dayton, and Donna Howard, D-Austin.
