State Rep. Faircloth: Property Taxes Legislative Update

From State Representative Wayne Faircloth Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas   As you are aware the 85th Texas Legislative Session is currently underway. If you have any questions or comments that you would like to share particularly if it pertains to a certain bill you can contact my office via this link Galveston College Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing Legislation On Wednesday March 7th I filed House Bill 2637.  This proposed legislation once passed will allow Galveston College to offer a four year degree in nursing.  Creating an affordable direct pipeline for nursing students to obtain medical jobs in the Galveston area. Galveston College currently offers a two-year associate degree in nursing but this expansion would help the school meet the demands of the workforce.  Texas is facing a shortage of nurses and recruiting and training local Galveston Island people will allow us to provide a predictable resource for the ongoing needs of UTMB and our local health care system. In the News: House Bills 15 & 21 This weeks legislative spotlights are on House Bills 15 and 21.  House Bill 15 filed by Dennis Bonnen is called the Property Tax Empowerment Act of 2017.  House Bill 21 filed by Dan Huberty seeks to fix the school finance issue in Texas. House Bill 15 seeks to provide more transparency in how property taxes are assessed in Texas.  This legislation would reduce the maximum increase in taxes for a property from 8 to 4.  The legislation hopes to hold local governments accountable for setting property tax rates. To assist with transparency House Bill 15 would require local governments to publish annually their No New Taxes Rate which is the rate that would raise the same amount of money as the previous year.  When appraisals increase the No New Taxes Rate decreases.  Additionally it would require local governments to create a searchable statewide database that gives taxpayers the information they need to hold local officials accountable.  Every property owner would be able to see how each jurisdictions proposed tax rates would directly affect their individual tax bill. House Bill 21 would inject almost $1.6 billion in the public education system.  The bills author described this legislation as the starting point in an effort that will likely take multiple sessions to fix the current education finance system.  Funding for public education in Texas has been the subject of almost constant litigation for decades. House Bill 21 increases the basic funding for almost all school districts by $200 per student every year.  It also increases the amount of money given to schools for students with dyslexia while including funding for high schools and non-professional staff in the basic formula.