Stop the Steal: How to Prevent Local Governments from Eroding State-Directed Tax Relief

Tax cut erosion is a major concern around the state. Since 2019, the Texas Legislature has committed substantial resources toward reducing property tax bills through twin strategies: compressing school district maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rates1 and increasing the residence homestead exemption. However, the Legislature’s tax relief efforts have largely been frustrated by the excesses of local government, which commonly take the form of aggressive rate hikes, frequent voter-approval tax rate elections (VATREs), large and costly bond propositions, and the abuse of certificates of obligation (COs).