AUSTIN—Voters who go to the polls for municipal and school board elections on May 7 will also be asked to decide on two proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution.
Deputy Secretary of State Joe Esparza drew the ballot order last week for the two proposed amendments, both dealing with property taxes. The first proposition on May’s ballot would authorize the Legislature to cut the property tax limit for the homesteads of elderly or disabled residents “to reflect any statutory reduction from the preceding tax year.”
According to Ballotpedia. org, the measure would result in a reduction in revenue of $467.5 million in the first two years it is implemented. The measure passed unanimously in both chambers during the second special session.
The second proposed amendment would increase the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $25,000 to $40,000. That measure, approved by the Legislature in October in another special session, also passed unanimously.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, the author of the amendment, said, “People see the need for property tax relief, and Texans are going to cry out for that continuously. This is a great way to bring that home to all of the taxpayers of Texas.”
State signs deal with Tokyo. The state hopes to see expanded growth from Tokyobased small and mediumsized businesses after signing a cooperative agreement with the Tokyo metropolitan government. The governor’s office of Economic Development and Tourism organized 18 local economic development partners across the state to provide resources to Tokyo businesses interested in expanding in Texas.
Covid-19 cases down; ICU beds nearly full. While the number of new Covid-19 cases in Texas during the past week dropped to 295,501 — a decrease of more than 130,000 — the state’s intensive care unit beds are approaching capacity once again. The Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University also reported 1,212 deaths, up nearly 25% from the previous week.
The drop in new cases has health officials hopeful the omicron variant has peaked. Hospitalizations in Texas of lab-confirmed cases of Covid-19 dropped slightly to 12,760, with only 317 available ICU beds in the entire state, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
A total of 16.896 million Texans are fully vaccinated, according to DSHS, which is 58% of the state’s population. An additional 5.85 million Texans have received a booster dose.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com.
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