Latest Contributions

• Texas House passes $12 billion property tax relief package, setting up fight over appraisal cap with Senate

  By Joshua Fechter Updated: April 13, 2023

  House Speaker Dade Phelan has said tightening the appraisal cap is the best way to cut property taxes, but Senate tax-cut proponents, housing experts and business groups predict the move would have dire consequences. Full Story 

• Former elections chief Chris Hollins drops bid for Houston mayor

  By Joshua Fechter Updated: April 6, 2023

  Facing a crowded field, Hollins, who served briefly as Harris County clerk in 2020, announced Thursday he will instead run to be Houston’s chief financial officer. Full Story 

• Texas drops effort to punish Harris County over its law enforcement spending

  By Joshua Fechter Updated: April 3, 2023

  The fight is the latest skirmish between Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and Harris County leaders over whether they “defunded” law enforcement. Full Story 

• Rift grows between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan over how to cut property taxes

  By Joshua Fechter Updated: March 31, 2023

  The Senate wants to raise the homestead exemption. The House wants to tighten the appraisal cap. Both chambers’ leaders are skeptical of each other’s proposal. Full Story 

• State troopers will help Austin with police patrols as the city struggles with an officer shortage

  By Joshua Fechter March 27, 2023

  Austin officials view the partnership as a stopgap measure as they try to fill the city’s more than 200 police vacancies. Full Story 

• Texas Senate passes $16.5 billion package to lower property taxes

  By Joshua Fechter and Brian Lopez March 22, 2023

  The proposals target the taxes homeowners pay and require school districts to lower their tax rates. Full Story 

• To tackle high housing costs, Texas lawmakers push to build more homes

  By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune, and Lucy Tompkins, The Texas Tribune and The New York Times March 18, 2023

  Housing advocates, builders and real estate experts agree that the state simply isn’t building enough homes to keep up with its booming population and economic growth. Full Story 

• The Texas House and Senate differ on how to cut property taxes. Here’s what their proposals say.

  By Joshua Fechter Updated: March 15, 2023

  Cuts to school property tax bills. Bigger tax benefits for homeowners. A controversial idea to limit property tax growth. Here’s what you need to know about the brewing property tax debate at the Texas Legislature. Full Story 

• Texas renters got unprecedented help during the pandemic. The Legislature is unlikely to extend it.

  By Lucy Tompkins, The Texas Tribune and The New York Times, and Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune March 14, 2023

  Lawmakers will decide whether to keep protections that shielded tenants from eviction — or to ban them. Full Story 

• After a two-year pause, feds give Texas the go-ahead to resume a major Houston highway expansion

  By Joshua Fechter March 7, 2023

  Across the state, major projects have drawn fierce opposition in recent years amid a reckoning over how freeway construction in the mid-20th century created and exacerbated racial and economic segregation. Full Story