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Texas Senate Bill 2 Pits Property Tax Relief Against Funding For City Services

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State lawmakers are debating whether to cap the amount of property taxes that can be collected by Texas municipalities.

Those in favor say Senate Bill 2 would provide relief for hard-pressed homeowners and small-business owners.  Local leaders say this would choke off dollars needed to pay for police, fire, emergency and other city services.

As reported by Texas Public Radio's Ryan Poppe: 

"As property values increase, the tax rate goes down and vice versa.  Once that rate reaches more than 8 percent, voters can petition their local taxing entity to lower that rate back down to 8 percent. [Senator] Bettencourt’s bill would keep the local tax rate at 5 percent or lower."

What would a statewide cap on property taxes mean for cities and counties across Texas? If enacted, how would this legislation affect essential services funded by local property taxes?

Guests: 

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Kim Johnson is the producer for Texas Public Radio’s live, call-in show The Source. She is a Trinity University alum with bachelor’s degrees in Communication and Spanish, and a Master of Arts Degree from the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.
David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi