EDITORIAL
There were a couple of good results from the 86th Legislative Session, which ended on May 27. School districts in Texas will get an influx of funds from the state after years of decline. Property owners will see some relief from those rising tax bills. Here’s a quick (though incomplete) roundup:
SCHOOL FUNDING—Lawmakers invested $11.6 billion to give more money to every school district in the state. Teachers won’t get a $5,000 raise, but will see a more modest bump in salary depending on how much money their district receives. Lawmakers also gave funds for a new merit system for top-performing teachers.
Also, full-day prekindergarten for low-income families is funded and summer programs grew for at-risk students.
TAXES—The legislature imposed a cap on city and county tax bills, to the chagrin of local policymakers. They also shaved money off tax bills and local property tax owners should see differences in their school tax rates in 2020 and 2021.
A plan to switch to a more sales tax-based approach did not advance.
EMINENT DOMAIN—Lawmakers took a pass on eminent domain legislation aimed at stopping the condemnation of land by either private or governmental entities. Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, who has family oil business ties and used to represent Milam County, bravely put forth a bill with some meaningful reform. It died in a House committee.
Other action included:
• As of Sept. 1, craft breweries will be able to sell beer to go.
• But 18-year-olds will no longer be able to purchase cigarettes.
• Lawmakers ran out of time to eliminate the yearly time change with Daylight Saving Time.
• And lastly, dang it, they failed to find consensus to reinstate the Texas Longhorns-Texas A&M Aggies football rivalry game.
RESIGNATION—Texas Secretary of State David Whitley resigned his position after the Texas Senate failed to confirm him to the position by a two-thirds majority in the 86th Legislative Session.
In two months, as acting secretary of state, Whitely led a botched voter purge that claimed 95,000 non-citizens had not registered to vote, which affected Milam County and cost the taxpayers of Texas $450,000 in legal fees. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled in February there hadn’t been widespread voter fraud, and called Whitley’s purge a “mess.”
Whitley, who served as Gov. Greg Abbott’s deputy chief of staff from 2017-18, was appointed to the secretary position in December 2018 by the governor. Abbott will assign a replacement though they won’t be confirmed until the legislature meets again in 2021. The governor rehired Whitley as a special adviser on staff for $205,00 a year—K.E.C and C.G.
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