Tag Archives: property taxes

Mayor White’s final budget

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here you go. Faced with a dour economic climate, Mayor Bill White unveiled a $4 billion budget proposal on Tuesday that keeps the property tax rate the same and holds spending at what it was the current fiscal year. The … Continue reading →

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School finance bill advances

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Has there ever been a legislative session that didn’t deal with school finance? This Lege is dealing with it as well, and the good news is they may have made some actual progress. Texas teachers would get an $800-a-year raise … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Get ready for the next school funding lawsuit

Posted on April 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The handwriting is on the wall. Property tax cuts and a stingy state budget have left many Texas school districts saying they are short-changing children and warning of another lawsuit attempt to force reforms. Texas lawmakers plan to increase school … Continue reading →

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Doing the easy part

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sen. Dan Patrick gets his day in the sun. Wednesday is the deadline for paying federal income taxes, but it’s also when state lawmakers will consider cutting franchise taxes for 132,000 small businesses in Texas including 24,000 in Harris County. … Continue reading →

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Senate passes budget

Posted on April 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that the budget presented by the Senate isn’t a big step backwards, which was a real concern given the bleak financial picture and the huge obligation of the property tax cuts, which we continue to be … Continue reading →

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Senate panel approves budget

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the Lege has one task they absolutely must do every biennium, and that’s pass a budget. The Senate Finance Committee has taken its first step towards doing that. A two-year state budget that accepts federal stimulus money … Continue reading →

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Property values declining

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The housing slump that has battered much of the country for two years finally has trickled down to Harris County, where residential property values have declined or stagnated for the first time … Continue reading →

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Always government handouts

Posted on March 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Texans for Public Justice have put together a really good report on government subsidies for WalMart here in Texas that I highly recommend. Stories like this constitute another reason why I tend not to get too bent out of shape … Continue reading →

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Will we or won’t we fix unemployment insurance?

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of money riding on the answer to that question. The lure of $555 million in federal stimulus money for additional unemployment insurance has Texas legislators mulling whether to expand unemployment benefits to more workers. To get that … Continue reading →

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