UPDATE: This day is now a 2fer; HB281 (by Rep. Middleton) to end taxpayer-funded 3rd-party lobbying will be heard at 10:30am in State Affairs in E2.014
Time to saddle up & ride, property taxpayers!
UPDATE2: a 3fer, considering HB238 (by. Rep. Krause) challenging enforcement of federal regulation on guns & gun accessories in Texas. 8am in the Homeland Security & Public Safety committee in room E2.016
It is absolutely critical we get a BIG turnout of taxpayers to testify at this one. Many local government officials and the lobbyists they hired with YOUR money to work against you realized that they would not get far with the Senate Property Tax committee, so they didn’t put in the big effort there, But they WILL in the House Ways & Means committee; expect lots of shiny first responder uniforms to be present to claim HB2 will take cops of the streets & empty out firehouses. So we need an even BIGGER property taxpayer turnout at this meeting. We need people to bring WRITTEN testimony if they can; only 1-2 pages detailing their struggles with property tax growth- either in numbers or personal story. If they DO have written testimony, try to email it to the committee office by Tuesday am at paige.higerd_HC@house.texas.gov and let them kill the trees for you. Be sure your name and city are listed at the top, so they can locate it when you testify.
No this is NOT property tax RELIEF, except in a future sense. It is a mechanism to control the GROWTH of property taxes and to put voter in more direct control of that growth. It is ABSOLUTELY essential that this piece get great support, because the bills coming later with actual relief for property taxpayers would be meaningless, if the appraisal growth could be used to ‘swamp’ any specific property tax reduction in a couple of years. We need the grassroots there and knowledgeable in the issues at hand.
In the lists below, our ‘BEST friends’ are in bold; the others need various levels of ‘selling’. Democrats are italicized but don’t pass on ‘selling’ them as well. Cole & Rodriguez are from Travis county & their communities are being DECIMATED by rising property values & taxes.
| Position | House Ways & Means Committee | Office | Phone |
| Chair: | Rep. Dustin Burrows | E2.722 | 512-463-0542 |
| Vice Chair: | Rep. Ryan Guillen | 1W.3 | 512-463-0416 |
| Members: | Rep. Dwayne Bohac | GS.6 | 512-463-0727 |
| Rep. Sheryl Cole | E1.218 | 512-463-0506 | |
| Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer | 3S.2 | 512-463-0616 | |
| Rep. Jim Murphy | 4N.3 | 512-463-0514 | |
| Rep. Candy Noble | E1.412 | 512-463-0186 | |
| Rep. Eddie Rodriguez | 4S.5 | 512-463-0674 | |
| Rep. Scott Sanford | E1.408 | 512-463-0356 | |
| Rep. Matt Shaheen | E2.718 | 512-463-0594 | |
| Rep. John Wray | E1.302 | 512-463-0516 |
A lot of folks may not have had to testify in the John Reagan building before. it is located to the NORTH of the capitol on the map below, Need to approach the main intrance from the GROUND level. The tunnel in E1 requires a badge, apparently (My apologies for directing some folks that way earlier.
Texas Legislative Watch 