Taxpayer Relief for Texans and Voting on Annexations
By State Rep. Lyle Larson
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Its the final countdown! We have reached the 127th day of
the 84th Legislative Session. The Legislature is bound by several deadlines through the 140 day session and the
final three weeks are the most critical. Several great House bills were passed this session while others didnt quite make it.
Here are descriptions of a few noteworthy bills that the Legislature has passed
so far this session.
• Eliminating Toll Roads
The House unanimously passed HB 2612 by Chairman Joe Pickett which requires the Department of Transportation to submit a report which includes a proposed plan to eliminate all toll roads in the state to the House Transportation Committee.
• Tax Relief for Texas Taxpayers
As Sine Die nears negotiators from the House and Senate are working to come to an agreement on legislation that will cut Texans taxes. Texas has had the great fortune over the last few years to experience incredibly economic growth which has allowed the Legislature to contemplate giving some of the money back to taxpayers.
The bill passed by the House included a business franchise tax and a sales tax cut while the legislation passed by the Senate calls for an increased homestead exemption which could result in a property tax cut with a slightly different franchise tax cut.
The Senators and House members are getting closer to a compromise and we look forward to sharing with you the results in the coming days.
• Allowing Texans to Vote on Municipal Annexations
As we discussed in our last newsletter several members in the Legislature are working to pass a bill that will allow residents of unincorporated Bexar County to vote prior to being annexed by a municipality. The law that allows home-rule cities to annex without consent has been on the books since 1912.
Most of my constituents who bought their homes outside of the city limits in unincorporated Bexar County did so intentionally. They understood that they would not pay city taxes and thus would not receive city services. To meet needs such as trash service and fire protection residents of unincorporated Bexar County have relied on Bexar County to provide services such as law enforcement and emergency services districts (ESDs) to provide fire protection and emergency response services.
Currently the ESD that operates in Northern Bexar County contracts with the Bexar-Bulverde Fire Dept. and operates with very little paid staff and has a response time under 8 minutes - which is on par with that of the City of San Antonio Fire Department - and home insurance rates inside the city limits are the same in ESD #3. Additionally the Bexar County Sheriffs Office has dedicated more law enforcement resources in the
unincorporated area and is building substations in these areas.
In addition to their satisfaction with their current level of service residents in this part of District 122 have indicated that they dont want to be responsible for the $10 billion in debt held by the City of San Antonio.
Along with Rep. Dan Huberty we authored a bill to allow Texans to vote before being annexed by home-rule cities. We have worked hard on this bill in hopes its passage will help folks in unincorporated Bexar County that are in the current City of San Antonio annexation plan.
Last week just hours before the midnight deadline for the House to consider House bills
HB 2221 was taken up. The debate lasted nearly an hour and the bill was ultimately killed by a group of legislators using a parliamentary tactic called a point of order.
We arent giving up yet. The Senate companion to HB 2221 Senate Bill 1639 is up for a vote in the Senate today. We look forward to working with Senator Campbell to get the bill passed in the Senate and back over to the House.
Making the case to allow folks to vote on whether to be annexed on the House floor last week.
• Pension Reform
HB 681 denies pensions for legislators and statewide elected officials who are convicted of certain felony offenses arising from their official duties. Qualifying felonies committed while in office include bribery; perjury; embezzlement extortion or theft of public money; or conspiracy to commit any of the aforementioned crimes.
• Convention of States Bills Pass the House
Last week as the deadline loomed the House approved
HJR 79 filed by Representative Paul Workman (right). The measure requests that Congress call a convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution for the explicit purpose of proposing a balanced budget amendment to the constitution.
Congress has never convened a convention of states to amend the Constitution; two-thirds of the states must call for one. The House passed the measure 100-40.
The House also approved
HJR 77 by Representative Rick Miller on an 80-62 vote. HJR 77 implores Congress to call a convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to propose amendments in order to impose fiscal restraints and limit the power of the federal government. The measure also seeks to limit the terms of federal officials and members of Congress.
Last Thursday at midnight marked the deadline for the consideration of House bills. And while these House bills and more were passed this session others that didnt quite make it will have to wait until the 85th Legislature in 2017.
State Representative Lyle Larson was first elected to serve the citizens of House District 122 in 2010. A 12 year member of the Bexar County (San Antonio) Commissioners Court Larson led efforts to save taxpayers over $150 million by lowering tax rates 7 times during his term in office. He serves on the: Calendars; Culture Recreation & Tourism; General Investigating & Ethics; and the House Natural Resources Committees.
