Calendar
Categories
Archives
My linkage
Polling Texas 2020
UT/Trib, Apr 25: Trump 49, Biden 44
DT/PPP, Apr 29: Biden 47, Trump 46
UT-Tyler/DMN, May 3: Trump 43, Biden 43
Emerson, May 13: Trump 47, Biden 41
Quinnipiac, June 3: Trump 44, Biden 43
PPP, June 5: Trump 48, Biden 48
PPP/PT, June 23: Trump 48, Biden 46
Fox, June 25: Biden 45, Trump 44
UT/Trib, July 2: Trump 48, Biden 44
PPP/Emily’s List, July 2: Biden 48, Trump 46
UT-Tyler/DMN, July 12: Biden 48, Trump 43
CBSNews, July 12: Trump 46, Biden 45
Quinnipiac, July 22: Biden 45, Trump 44
Morning Consult, July 28: Biden 47, Trump 45
Morning Consult, August 3: Biden 47, Trump 46
Polling Texas 2018
WPA, Jan 5: Cruz 52, O'Rourke 34
PPP, Jan 27: Cruz 45, O'Rourke 37
Quinnipiac, April 19: Cruz 47, O'Rourke 44
Quinnipiac, May 31: Cruz 50, O'Rourke 39
PPP, June 8: Cruz 48, O'Rourke 42
GQR, June 16: Cruz 49, O'Rourke 43
CBS/YouGov, June 24: Cruz 44, O'Rourke 36
UT/Trib, June 25: Cruz 41, O'Rourke 36
Gravis, July 10: Cruz 51, O'Rourke 42
Lyceum, July 31: Cruz 41, O'Rourke 39
Quinnipiac, July 31: Cruz 49, O'Rourke 43
PPP, August 2: Cruz 46, O'Rourke 42
NBC News, August 23: Cruz 49, O'Rourke 45
ECPS, August 27: Cruz 38, O'Rourke 37
Crosswinds, September 12: Cruz 47, O'Rourke 44
Quinnipiac, September 18 (LV): Cruz 54, O'Rourke 45
Ipsos, September 19 (LV): O'Rourke 47, Cruz 45Polling Texas 2016
Beatty, Jun 22: Trump 37, Clinton 30
UT/TTP, Jun 27: Trump 41, Clinton 33
KTVT/Dixie, Aug 11: Trump 46, Clinton 35
PPP, Aug 16: Trump 44, Clinton 38
WaPo-SurveyMonkey, Sep 6: Clinton 46, Trump 45
ECPS, Sep 14: Trump 42, Clinton 36
Texas Lyceum, Sep 15: Trump 39, Clinton 32
YouGov, Oct 3: Trump 50,1, Clinton 41.5
KTVT/Dixie, Oct 5: Trump 45, Clinton 38
WFAA/SurveyUSA, Oct 14: Trump 47, Clinton 43
UH Hobby Center, Oct 17: Trump 41, Clinton 38
WaPo/SurveyMonkey, Oct 17: Trump 48, Clinton 46
CBS/YouGov, Oct 23: Trump 46, Clinton 43
Crosswind/Statesman, Oct 27: Trump 45, Clinton 38
UT/TT, Oct 27: Trump 45, Clinton 42
KTVT/Dixie Strategies, Nov 2: Trump 52, Clinton 39
NBC/WSJ/Marist, Nov 3: Trump 49, Clinton 40
ECPS, Nov 3: Trump 49, Clinton 34
YouGov, Nov 5: Trump 50.3, Clinton 42.4Polling Texas 2014
UT/TT, Nov 2013: Abbott 40, Davis 35, Glass 5
PPP, Nov 2013: Abbott 50, Davis 35
UT/TT, Feb 2014: Abbott 47, Davis 36
ECPS, Mar 2014: Abbott 49, Davis 42
Rasmussen, Mar 2014: Abbott 53, Davis 41
PPP, Apr 2014: Abbott 51, Davis 37
UT/TT, June 2014:Abbott 44, Davis 32
YouGov, July 2014: Abbott 50, Davis 34
Rasmussen, Aug 2014: Abbott 48, Davis 40
YouGov, Sep 2014: Abbott 56, Davis 38
Lyceum, Oct 2014: Abbott 49, Davis 40
Rasmussen, Oct 2014: Abbott 51, Davis 40
KHOU, Oct 2014: Abbott 47, Davis 32
UT/TT, Oct 2014: Abbott 54, Davis 38
YouGov, Oct 2014: Abbott 57, Davis 37Polling Texas 2012
PPP April 26: Romney 50, Obama 43
UT/TT May 22: Romney 46, Obama 38 (RV) - Romney 55, Obama 35 (LV)
WPAOR Sep 13: Romney 55, Obama 40
YouGov Sep 24: Romney 52, Obama 41
Lyceum Oct 2: Romney 58, Obama 39
YouGov Oct 17: Romney 55, Obama 41
UT/TT Oct 29: Romney 55, Obama 39
Baselice Oct 30: Romney 54, Obama 38
YouGov Nov 3: Romney 57, Obama 38-
Recent Posts
- May 2024 special election early voting, Day Three: Still slow going
- SCOTUS hears the EMTALA case
- Harris County gets “Solar for All” grant
- Texas blog roundup for the week of April 22
- Time to fight over Prop A implementation
- Supreme Court puts temporary pause on Uplift Harris
- Zombie ReBuild lawsuit returns with a vengeance
- Seattle Children’s Hospital settles with Paxton
- Endorsement watch: One out of three ain’t good
- May 2024 special election early voting, Day One: Why are we doing this again?
Recent Comments
Tags
- Annise Parker
- Attorney General
- blog roundup
- budget
- Commissioners Court
- Congress
- coronavirus
- Dan Patrick
- Democratic primary
- Donald Trump
- Election 2009
- Election 2010
- Election 2012
- Election 2014
- Election 2015
- Election 2016
- Election 2018
- Election 2020
- Election 2022
- Governor
- Greg Abbott
- Harris County
- HISD
- Houston
- Houston City Council
- interviews
- judicial races
- Ken Paxton
- lawsuit
- linkdump
- Mayor
- polls
- President
- redistricting
- Rick Perry
- runoff
- schools
- SCOTUS
- Senate
- Sylvester Turner
- Texas
- The Lege
- TPA
- turnout
- videos
Blogroll
- ‘stina is a shiny special one
- 2 On The Beat
- A Perfectly Cromulent Blog
- AintNoBadDude
- alicublog
- Amygdala
- ArchPundit
- AS THE COURT TURNS
- Asian American Action Fund
- Austin Contrarian
- B and B
- Bald Heretic
- Baseball Musings
- Bay Area Houston
- BEYONDbones
- Big Pink Cookie
- Blog con Queso
- bloggin’ all things brownsville
- Blue Bloggin'
- BlueBloggin
- Booman Tribune
- Boots on the Bayou
- Boyd’s Blog
- Brains and Eggs
- Burkablog
- Burnt Orange Report
- BY THE BAYOU
- calle viena
- Campos Communications
- Capitol Annex
- Christine Quinones
- ConFrijoles
- Coyote Mercury
- Daily Kos
- DARE to LIVE in Farmers Branch
- David Ortez
- debutaunt.com
- Defending People
- Dig Deeper Texas
- Digby
- Dog Canyon
- Don Large Political Report
- DosCentavos.net
- DreamHost Blog
- Easter Lemming Liberal News
- Eschaton
- Eye on Williamson
- Ezra Klein
- FalkenBlog
- FiveThirtyEight
- Forrest For the Trees
- Frothing at the Mouth
- Greg’s Opinion
- Grits for Breakfast
- H-Town Chow Down
- Hair Balls
- Half Empty
- Hey Elise
- Home in the Heights
- Hopefully So
- Houston Calling
- Houston Politics
- Houston Strategies
- Houston’s Clear Thinkers
- Houstonist
- Houtopia
- Idiotprogrammer
- In The Pink Texas
- INSOLVENT REPUBLIC OF BLOGISTAN
- Insomniactive
- Intermodality
- Isiah Carey
- Jeff Balke
- Juanita Jean
- Julie Pippert: Using My Words
- Kevin Drum
- Kuff’s World
- Latinos For Texas Blog
- Laurie Kendrick
- Letters from Texas
- Lewisville Texan
- Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center
- Linkmeister
- Local Texans
- Lone Star Times
- Lost… and Gone Forever
- m e a n r a c h e l
- M1EK’s Bake-Sale of Bile
- Marc’s Miscellany
- Mark Evanier
- Matthew Yglesias
- McBlogger
- Mean Green Cougar Red
- MeMo
- Mike McGuff
- Miya Shay
- MOMocrats
- musings
- My Houston Family Lawyer
- MyDD
- Nail-Tinted Glasses
- neoHOUSTON
- Newsrack Blog
- nonsequiteuse
- North Texas Liberal
- Oliver Willis
- On the Move
- Ones and Zeros East
- Owls
- Page Break
- Pandagon
- Peter Sagal
- Poli-Tex
- PoliTex
- Political Animal
- Postcards
- Prof13
- Purple Texas
- racymind
- Ramblings of an HHSC Employee amidst chaos
- Rantings from 35,000 feet
- rc3.org
- Rep. Mike Villarreal
- Rhetoric & Rhythm
- Richmondrail.org
- Rick Perry vs The World
- Saint Arnold Brewhouse Blog
- Same Blog, Different Day
- SciGuy
- Sisyphus Shrugged
- slacktivist
- Slightly Rough
- Snarkout
- South Texas Chisme
- Suburban Guerrilla
- Swamplot
- Swing State Project
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire
- Talking Points Memo
- TalkLeft
- TAPPED
- TBogg
- TechBlog
- Texans Against Hunger
- TexansChick
- Texas Freedom Network
- Texas Liberal
- Texas Musings
- Texas on the Potomac
- Texas Politics
- Texas Vox
- Texas Watchdog
- the bill clerk
- The Bloggess
- THE BRAZOSPORT NEWS
- The Caucus Blog
- The Comics Curmudgeon
- The Contrarian
- The Dark Star Gazette
- The Futility Infielder
- The Great God Pan Is Dead
- The Heights Life
- The Lunch Tray
- The Poor Man Institute
- The Sanctuary
- The Sideshow
- The Texas Blue
- The Texas Tribune
- The Thicket at State Legislatures
- There… Already
- They are Building a Wal-Mart on My Street
- This Blog Is Full Of Crap
- Thomason Tracts
- Three Wise Men
- TRAIL BLAZERS
- TruthHugger
- Tubular
- Tx Capitol Report
- Uncertain Principles
- Unqualified Offerings
- Vigilant, the Common Cause Texas Blog
- Wait, Wait, Don't Blog Me!
- Walker Report
- Wampum
- What She Really Thinks
- What Would Jack Do?
- Whitless Humorings
- WP Support Forum
- Zippidy Doo Da
Utilities
Categories
Archives
Polling Texas 2016
Beatty, Jun 22: Trump 37, Clinton 30
UT/TTP, Jun 27: Trump 41, Clinton 33
KTVT/Dixie, Aug 11: Trump 46, Clinton 35
PPP, Aug 16: Trump 44, Clinton 38
WaPo-SurveyMonkey, Sep 6: Clinton 46, Trump 45
ECPS, Sep 14: Trump 42, Clinton 36
Texas Lyceum, Sep 15: Trump 39, Clinton 32
YouGov, Oct 3: Trump 50,1, Clinton 41.5
KTVT/Dixie, Oct 5: Trump 45, Clinton 38
WFAA/SurveyUSA, Oct 14: Trump 47, Clinton 43
UH Hobby Center, Oct 17: Trump 41, Clinton 38
WaPo/SurveyMonkey, Oct 17: Trump 48, Clinton 46
CBS/YouGov, Oct 23: Trump 46, Clinton 43
Crosswind/Statesman, Oct 27: Trump 45, Clinton 38
UT/TT, Oct 27: Trump 45, Clinton 42
KTVT/Dixie Strategies, Nov 2: Trump 52, Clinton 39
NBC/WSJ/Marist, Nov 3: Trump 49, Clinton 40
ECPS, Nov 3: Trump 49, Clinton 34
YouGov, Nov 5: Trump 50,3, Clinton 42.4
Polling Texas 2014
UT/TT, Nov 2013: Abbott 40, Davis 35, Glass 5
PPP, Nov 2013: Abbott 50, Davis 35
UT/TT, Feb 2014: Abbott 47, Davis 36
ECPS, Mar 2014: Abbott 49, Davis 42
Rasmussen, Mar 2014: Abbott 53, Davis 41
PPP, Apr 2014: Abbott 51, Davis 37
UT/TT, June 2014:Abbott 44, Davis 32
YouGov, July 2014: Abbott 50, Davis 34
Rasmussen, Aug 2014: Abbott 48, Davis 40
YouGov, Sep 2014: Abbott 56, Davis 38
Lyceum, Oct 2014: Abbott 49, Davis 40
Rasmussen, Oct 2014: Abbott 51, Davis 40
KHOU, Oct 2014: Abbott 47, Davis 32
UT/TT, Oct 2014: Abbott 54, Davis 38
YouGov, Oct 2014: Abbott 57, Davis 37
Polling Texas 2012
PPP April 26: Romney 50, Obama 43
UT/TT May 22: Romney 46, Obama 38 (RV) - Romney 55, Obama 35 (LV)
WPAOR Sep 13: Romney 55, Obama 40
YouGov Sep 24: Romney 52, Obama 41
Lyceum Oct 2: Romney 58, Obama 39
YouGov Oct 17: Romney 55, Obama 41
UT/TT Oct 29: Romney 55, Obama 39
Baselice Oct 30: Romney 54, Obama 38
YouGov Nov 3: Romney 57, Obama 38
My Linkage
Recent Comments
- C.L. on Time to fight over Prop A implementation
- J on SCOTUS hears the EMTALA case
- C.L. on Supreme Court puts temporary pause on Uplift Harris
- Meme on Supreme Court puts temporary pause on Uplift Harris
- Greg Summerlin on Supreme Court puts temporary pause on Uplift Harris
- Texas blog roundup for the week of April 22 | Off the Kuff on Interview with Melissa Noriega
- Brenda Bell on Good luck finding any info about those county appraisal board elections
- C.L. on Endorsement watch: One out of three ain’t good
- C.L. on Supreme Court puts temporary pause on Uplift Harris
- C.L. on Zombie ReBuild lawsuit returns with a vengeance
- Ken on Supreme Court puts temporary pause on Uplift Harris
- J on Endorsement watch: One out of three ain’t good
- Andrew Lynch on Supreme Court puts temporary pause on Uplift Harris
- Mainstream on Endorsement watch: One out of three ain’t good
- Meme on Re-endorsement watch: Again for Jarvis
-
Recent Posts
- May 2024 special election early voting, Day Three: Still slow going
- SCOTUS hears the EMTALA case
- Harris County gets “Solar for All” grant
- Texas blog roundup for the week of April 22
- Time to fight over Prop A implementation
- Supreme Court puts temporary pause on Uplift Harris
- Zombie ReBuild lawsuit returns with a vengeance
- Seattle Children’s Hospital settles with Paxton
- Endorsement watch: One out of three ain’t good
- May 2024 special election early voting, Day One: Why are we doing this again?
- Appeals court rejects Paxton appeal on Uplift Harris
- Re-endorsement watch: Again for Jarvis
- A brief history of May elections in Harris County
- Montrose Blvd project officially delayed
- Arlington nun mutiny update
Tags
- Annise Parker
- Attorney General
- blog roundup
- budget
- Commissioners Court
- Congress
- coronavirus
- Dan Patrick
- Democratic primary
- Donald Trump
- Election 2009
- Election 2010
- Election 2012
- Election 2014
- Election 2015
- Election 2016
- Election 2018
- Election 2020
- Election 2022
- Governor
- Greg Abbott
- Harris County
- HISD
- Houston
- Houston City Council
- interviews
- judicial races
- Ken Paxton
- lawsuit
- linkdump
- Mayor
- polls
- President
- redistricting
- Rick Perry
- runoff
- schools
- SCOTUS
- Senate
- Sylvester Turner
- Texas
- The Lege
- TPA
- turnout
- videos
Blogroll
- ‘stina is a shiny special one
- 2 On The Beat
- A Perfectly Cromulent Blog
- AintNoBadDude
- alicublog
- Amygdala
- ArchPundit
- AS THE COURT TURNS
- Asian American Action Fund
- Austin Contrarian
- B and B
- Bald Heretic
- Baseball Musings
- Bay Area Houston
- BEYONDbones
- Big Pink Cookie
- Blog con Queso
- bloggin’ all things brownsville
- Blue Bloggin'
- BlueBloggin
- Booman Tribune
- Boots on the Bayou
- Boyd’s Blog
- Brains and Eggs
- Burkablog
- Burnt Orange Report
- BY THE BAYOU
- calle viena
- Campos Communications
- Capitol Annex
- Christine Quinones
- ConFrijoles
- Coyote Mercury
- Daily Kos
- DARE to LIVE in Farmers Branch
- David Ortez
- debutaunt.com
- Defending People
- Dig Deeper Texas
- Digby
- Dog Canyon
- Don Large Political Report
- DosCentavos.net
- DreamHost Blog
- Easter Lemming Liberal News
- Eschaton
- Eye on Williamson
- Ezra Klein
- FalkenBlog
- FiveThirtyEight
- Forrest For the Trees
- Frothing at the Mouth
- Greg’s Opinion
- Grits for Breakfast
- H-Town Chow Down
- Hair Balls
- Half Empty
- Hey Elise
- Home in the Heights
- Hopefully So
- Houston Calling
- Houston Politics
- Houston Strategies
- Houston’s Clear Thinkers
- Houstonist
- Houtopia
- Idiotprogrammer
- In The Pink Texas
- INSOLVENT REPUBLIC OF BLOGISTAN
- Insomniactive
- Intermodality
- Isiah Carey
- Jeff Balke
- Juanita Jean
- Julie Pippert: Using My Words
- Kevin Drum
- Kuff’s World
- Latinos For Texas Blog
- Laurie Kendrick
- Letters from Texas
- Lewisville Texan
- Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center
- Linkmeister
- Local Texans
- Lone Star Times
- Lost… and Gone Forever
- m e a n r a c h e l
- M1EK’s Bake-Sale of Bile
- Marc’s Miscellany
- Mark Evanier
- Matthew Yglesias
- McBlogger
- Mean Green Cougar Red
- MeMo
- Mike McGuff
- Miya Shay
- MOMocrats
- musings
- My Houston Family Lawyer
- MyDD
- Nail-Tinted Glasses
- neoHOUSTON
- Newsrack Blog
- nonsequiteuse
- North Texas Liberal
- Oliver Willis
- On the Move
- Ones and Zeros East
- Owls
- Page Break
- Pandagon
- Peter Sagal
- Poli-Tex
- PoliTex
- Political Animal
- Postcards
- Prof13
- Purple Texas
- racymind
- Ramblings of an HHSC Employee amidst chaos
- Rantings from 35,000 feet
- rc3.org
- Rep. Mike Villarreal
- Rhetoric & Rhythm
- Richmondrail.org
- Rick Perry vs The World
- Saint Arnold Brewhouse Blog
- Same Blog, Different Day
- SciGuy
- Sisyphus Shrugged
- slacktivist
- Slightly Rough
- Snarkout
- South Texas Chisme
- Suburban Guerrilla
- Swamplot
- Swing State Project
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire
- Talking Points Memo
- TalkLeft
- TAPPED
- TBogg
- TechBlog
- Texans Against Hunger
- TexansChick
- Texas Freedom Network
- Texas Liberal
- Texas Musings
- Texas on the Potomac
- Texas Politics
- Texas Vox
- Texas Watchdog
- the bill clerk
- The Bloggess
- THE BRAZOSPORT NEWS
- The Caucus Blog
- The Comics Curmudgeon
- The Contrarian
- The Dark Star Gazette
- The Futility Infielder
- The Great God Pan Is Dead
- The Heights Life
- The Lunch Tray
- The Poor Man Institute
- The Sanctuary
- The Sideshow
- The Texas Blue
- The Texas Tribune
- The Thicket at State Legislatures
- There… Already
- They are Building a Wal-Mart on My Street
- This Blog Is Full Of Crap
- Thomason Tracts
- Three Wise Men
- TRAIL BLAZERS
- TruthHugger
- Tubular
- Tx Capitol Report
- Uncertain Principles
- Unqualified Offerings
- Vigilant, the Common Cause Texas Blog
- Wait, Wait, Don't Blog Me!
- Walker Report
- Wampum
- What She Really Thinks
- What Would Jack Do?
- Whitless Humorings
- WP Support Forum
- Zippidy Doo Da
Utilities
Tag Archives: property taxes
Early voting for the May 7 elections begins tomorrow
We all have at least one election to vote in, so get ready to get out there. On May 7, Texas voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on two proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution, as well as … Continue reading
Texas Central owes some property taxes
deep sigh A planned high-speed train between Houston and Dallas, backers say, would allow travelers to avoid costly and time-consuming freeway traffic. Before it can deliver that relief, however, the company behind the high-speed rail project will have to stop … Continue reading
What’s on the ballot for the May statewide special election
Yes, you will have a reason to vote this May. It’s a statewide special constitutional amendment election, thanks to the most recent special session. Here’s what’s on tap. Voters will head to the polls starting April 25 to decide whether … Continue reading
Let’s pay some attention to the Gulf Coast Protection District
They may raise some tax revenue to help pay for the Ike Dike, so best to know what’s happening with it. Especially since they didn’t exactly go out of their way to make it easy to do that. Danielle Goshen … Continue reading
We will have a statewide special election in May
Surprise! Texas voters will decide whether to lower some property taxes that fund schools in a May 7 special election. Two propositions will be on the statewide ballot. Gov. Greg Abbott officially set the upcoming election date Wednesday. The first … Continue reading
Does Houston get its fair share from Harris County?
It’s complicated. Do property taxpayers inside the City of Houston subsidize Harris County services? It’s a question that comes up a lot, given the fact that city residents—like their counterparts in the county—pay separate property taxes to the county, but … Continue reading
The high pastoral life
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet. This fall, county officials mailed out property tax bills to the owners of a 10-bedroom, 10.5-bath Houston-area mansion, an 8,000-square-foot residence in a historic San Antonio neighborhood, an elegant Highland Park estate in Dallas and a house on more … Continue reading
We are making progress on the flood bond projects
Let’s not lose sight of that. Three years into Harris County’s historic $2.5 billion flood bond program, progress can feel maddeningly slow. After decades of underinvestment in flood protection, however, any completed project is a welcome improvement for nearby residents. … Continue reading
Now is the autumn of our discontent
Nobody likes anything right now. Texas voters have a net disapproval for how state leaders have handled the reliability of the electricity grid, abortion and property taxes, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. In an October poll … Continue reading
Commissioners Court avoids quorum break
Good. Harris County Commissioners Court this week unanimously agreed on a proposal to cut the overall property tax rate for the coming year, a compromise that avoids a potential quorum break by Republicans that would have forced an even deeper … Continue reading
Republican County Commissioners ponder another quorum break
It’s a thing they can do, and have done in recent times. They shouldn’t, not for this, but they can. The three Democrats on Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday proposed cutting the overall property tax rate for the third … Continue reading
Where are the stimulus funds for the schools?
Ridiculous. For more than a year, the federal government has been pumping billions of dollars into school districts across the country to help them meet the demands of the pandemic. Most states have used that pot of stimulus funds as … Continue reading
The infrastructure bill and the Ike Dike
This is encouraging. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan sure seems to be considering building the Ike Dike. His $2 trillion plan includes improving and strengthening infrastructure in coastal areas most vulnerable during hurricane season. Biden pitched part of the American … Continue reading
What the American Rescue Plan means to Houston
First and foremost, no layoffs. Houston and Harris County are expected to receive more than $1.5 billion through the stimulus bill approved by Congress Wednesday, providing a massive cash injection that city officials say will help close a budget shortfall … Continue reading
Can we please not screw the schools right now?
Really, we don’t have to do this. Across the Houston region and Texas, school districts that lost enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic are facing a drop in state funds starting in January if the Texas Education Agency or state lawmakers … Continue reading
Flooding affects toll roads, too.
This makes sense to me. Commissioners Court on Tuesday voted to create a local government corporation to manage Harris County’s toll road system in a move expected to provide a windfall to county coffers and allow surplus toll collections to … Continue reading
Revisiting the May elections
I’m ambivalent about this. Most cities in Texas — from Galveston to Lubbock — moved their May elections to November under a pandemic-era decree by Gov. Greg Abbott. But the choices facing voters will remain limited to candidates who filed … Continue reading
The rough fiscal road for school districts
It’s gonna be bad. How bad remains the question. Coronavirus already has wreaked havoc on school districts — closing campuses for the remainder of the school year, shifting learning online, and exposing a wide digital divide between students who have … Continue reading
Another review of Judge Hidalgo’s first year
Though, oddly enough in a story about Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s first year in office, most of the text is about outgoing Commissioner Steve Radack and the two-year-long temper tantrum he’s been throwing. For many years, the Harris County … Continue reading
City wins final judgment in revenue cap lawsuit
Wow, is this ever a blast from the past. The city of Houston has prevailed in a lawsuit challenging the amount it can collect in property taxes, ending 14 years of litigation over a set of measures approved by voters … Continue reading
Another ReBuild Houston lawsuit
Gotta say, this puzzles me. A pair of Houston residents filed a lawsuit against Mayor Sylvester Turner and city council Monday, accusing them of failing to follow the will of voters who approved a charter amendment last year for funding … Continue reading
Cagle and Radack break quorum
They did it. Two Harris County Commissioners Court members skipped Tuesday’s meeting to prevent the Democratic majority from voting on a property tax rate hike that would increase revenue by 8 percent. Republican commissioners Steve Radack and Jack Cagle were … Continue reading
Will Radack and Cagle break quorum to stop a tax rate hike?
We’ll find out today. Harris County Commissioners Court has scheduled a vote Tuesday to hike property taxes by 8 percent, though the two Republican members can thwart the plan by simply skipping the vote. A quirk in the Texas Government … Continue reading
Do you believe in magical thinking?
I did not read this long profile of Tony Buzbee, because life is short and we all have better things to do. I did briefly scan the print version a bit, and in doing so I noticed the following paragraph, … Continue reading
Other counties also considering property tax rate hikes
I have four things to say about this. A statewide property tax relief plan that takes effect next year is prompting hefty tax increases this fall in many of the biggest cities and counties in Texas, even in places that … Continue reading
Quorum question
Who knew? A quirk in Texas law could allow the two Republicans on Harris County Commissioners Court, despite being in the minority, to prevent the three Democrats from enacting a proposed property tax increase. Typically, three court members constitute a quorum, … Continue reading
Ed Emmett is not a fan of SB2
So he opines. At its core, SB 2 continues state leaders’ war against local governments. For years local governments have had to make up for the state’s underfunding of public education. But the state’s top elected officials, Gov. Greg Abbott … Continue reading
A look at the Constitutional amendments we will see this November
There are ten of them, including a couple I will vote against as hard as I can. House Joint Resolution 4 would let the Texas Water Development dole out dollars from a flood infrastructure fund — created by Senate Bill … Continue reading
The real goal of SB2
Let’s take a look at the quotes from the supporters of SB2, the new law that will impose revenue caps on all Texas cities, to see what they say about it. “They’re going to have to start looking at spending … Continue reading
More info on the school finance bill
Here’s what we know. Before final negotiations, the House’s version of HB 3 cost $9.4 billion, and the Senate’s cost a whopping $14.8 billion, according to Texas Education Agency calculations. The final cost is around $11.6 billion, according to lawmakers, … Continue reading
Deal apparently reached on school finance
We await the details. Texas’ top three political leaders declared Thursday that the Legislature had reached agreements on its three main 2019 priorities: A two-year state budget, a comprehensive reform of school finance and legislation designed to slow the growth … Continue reading
A tale of screwed cities
That’s my unofficial title for this legislative session. The interest group representing Texas cities used to be one of the most powerful legislative forces at the Capitol. This session, it has become the GOP’s most prominent adversary. Its members have … Continue reading
The tax swap is dead
For this session, at least. Most likely, barring anything strange. State Rep. Dan Huberty, the top public education leader in the Texas House, postponed two items of legislation Tuesday that would pay for long-term, ongoing school district tax cuts by … Continue reading
Where goes the tax swap plan from here?
We start with the double down. Showing their usual united front, the state’s “Big Three” political leaders on Friday tried to remake their case for why the Texas Legislature should deliver on long-term, ongoing property tax relief before the session … Continue reading