Budget

Halftime

March 20, 2017

Today marks the halfway point for the 85th Legislature. Only 70 days left and a whole lot of work still to do. I’m doing my best to serve the good of Texans. In recent weeks, I’ve been speaking out...

Watson bill provides new option for local property tax relief

January 6, 2017

Cities, counties and other local governments would have another way to reduce property taxes for homeowners under legislation filed by Sen. Kirk Watson on Friday. Senate Bill 418 and its companion ...

SB 290: Rising property values should benefit students, not state

December 13, 2016

The Texas Legislature has long relied upon rising property values — and the resulting property tax generated at the local level — to reduce the state's own constitutional responsibility to pay for pub...

Here’s what’s missing from the Statesman’s story on property taxes

November 10, 2015

In Austin ISD, the average homeowner is paying about $1,000 in property taxes this year to help the state cover its constitutional responsibility to support public schools across the state. But reduci...

Oh, the irony

October 26, 2015

I love Texas. It’s a great state and I serve it proudly. But there are days when those in control of the Capitol make my head hurt and they do things that help me sort of understand why Norwegians use...

My Vote on HB1

May 29, 2015

We had an unprecedented opportunity this session to invest in Texas, and in some areas, we seized that opportunity. We're helping our higher education campuses build more than $3 billion in capital...