GOP muzzles critics at tax reform hearing
At the first hearing on aggressive property tax reforms on Wednesday, it was clear that state senators intended to bulldoze over objections to legislation limiting future increases in taxes collected by local governments.
While supporters of the measure were greeted warmly, critics were frequently interrupted and accused of providing false information to a new committee made up almost entirely of Republicans.
“I’m never going to stop on this until we get this bill passed,” said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who chairs the property tax committee and also serves as the Republican caucus leader in the Senate.
More time for backers
It wasn’t just Bettencourt’s early tone that gave the impression the committee is eager to pass the measure, which would require voter approval for any property tax increase over 2.5 percent for cities, counties or school districts.
Most of the early testimony handpicked by the committee was from groups supporting the caps, or at least the concept. And most of those people were given seven-minutes to make their case and were rarely interrupted.
But when officials from San Antonio and Dallas were finally allowed to speak hours later, they were given just two minutes to state their opposition and the mood was often combative.
During his testimony, San Antonio Director of Public Affairs Jeff Coyle was interrupted twice by the committee for opposing the tax plan and noting that public safety costs in the city are growing 6 percent a year. State Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, at one point called some of Coyle’s statements “false.”
It didn’t go much better for Dallas Chief Financial Officer M. Elizabeth Reich, who was questioned for almost seven minutes after she said the reforms would hurt the city’s ability to pay for public safety. She said if the 2.5 percent cap had been in place for the last 10 years, it would have meant $32 million less in annual revenue for the city, enough to pay 358 police officers.
But maybe the roughest exchange was when El Paso County Commissioner David Stout, who traveled 600 miles to testify, said he opposed the 2.5 percent cap.
“Why are you even here?” Bettencourt asked.
Stout said El Paso County hasn’t raised its property tax revenues more than 2.5 percent in the last 5 years and would not have been affected if the limits had been in place. But Stout said the bill would take away local control, and that he is concerned about what would happen in the future if the county needs to go above the cap.
When Stout tried to say he felt the county shouldn’t be penalized for being responsible, he was interrupted again by Bettencourt, who repeated that he didn’t understand why Stout was testifying.
‘An accelerated process’
The makeup of the newly created Property Tax Committee suggested the first meeting was going to be one-sided. Democrats have been consistent critics of GOP-led efforts to stop the escalation of property taxes, saying they threaten funding for schools, police and fire protection. The five-member panel is almost entirely Republican, with just one Democrat.
“That is low,” said State Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, the Democratic leader in the Senate.
It is the only committee in the Texas Senate with just one Democrat. Committees are set by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican who leads the senate and has promised to deliver property tax relief.
Sen. Chuy Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said he’s not worried about being the only Democrat, but he is warning local governments about how they approach the committee.
“You can’t just come here and say no,” Hinojosa said.
Instead, he said government leaders need to propose alternatives to address the rise of property taxes.
The speed at which the senate is moving is notable. It was just a week ago that the now 118-page tax reform bill was introduced and it is already being debated, an oddity in the Texas Legislature, which usually starts at a snail's pace.
“This is an accelerated process,” said Dick Lavine, a fiscal analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which has opposed the 2.5 percent cap largely because the bill doesn’t explain how the state would replace billions of dollars school districts would lose. He called that omission a “ghost” in the middle of the bill.
Battle in the House
The Senate is seen as favoring caps on property taxes collections based on recent history. Two years ago, the Senate passed a plan to cap property tax increases enacted by cities and counties at 4 percent before they would be forced to hold a public referendum.
The real battle later could be in the House, which opposed the Senate plan two years ago and has less of a dominating Republican advantage than the Senate. Republicans hold a 19-12 advantage over Democrats in the Senate and an 83-67 advantage in the House.
While the Senate Property Tax Reform Committee is already holding its first hearing on the property tax bill, the House has yet to schedule any meetings on the topic. The House Ways and Means Committee that would hold the first hearing has not met yet and could still be weeks away from taking up the issue.