Wanted to Create New Private District to Impose Fees and Taxes: House of Bad Cards

If you search Google for Texas special-purpose district complaints, you'll see that these districts are accused of:

Lack of Oversight and Accountability
Potential for Abuse of Power
Inefficient and Duplicative Services
Lack of Transparency
Difficulty in Forming and Dissolving Districts

You either believe what Reagan said when he told us that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" or you don't. And too many lawmakers don't.

This bill, HB 112 - authored by Ace of Betrayers Angie Button - authorizes the creation of new special-purpose governmental districts, adding to an already complex and often unaccountable landscape of local governmental entities in Texas. Even though it removes immediate taxing authority, these districts would still be able to issue bonds to finance projects, introducing indirect but real financial risks to taxpayers should projects underperform or default.

Additionally, the bill grants districts broad authority to impose real property use restrictions, increasing the regulatory burden on landowners and businesses within their boundaries.

Government should protect, not complicate, private property rights.

This bill contradicts core tenets of limited government and free markets. Rather than allowing private innovation ecosystems to grow organically, it proposes creating government-sponsored districts to facilitate economic development, setting a troubling precedent of government picking winners and losers under the guise of strategic growth.

GOP Platform Conflict: Planks 62, 68 (fiscal responsibility, eliminate property taxes); Principles 4, 5 (limited government, personal responsibility).

RV#2287: Yea 81 (R 38, D 43) - Nay 58 (R 42, D 16)
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Yea - Allen; Anchia; Ashby; Barry; Bell, C.; Bell, K.; Bernal; Bhojani; Bonnen; Bryant; Buckley; Bucy; Button; Campos; Canales; Capriglione; Cole; Cortez; Craddick; Cunningham; Curry; Darby; Dean; Dutton; Dyson; Gamez; Garcia Hernandez; Garcia, J.; Garcia, L.; Gerdes; Geren; Goodwin; Guillen; Harless; Harris Davila; Hayes; Hefner; Hernandez; Hinojosa; Howard; Hunter; Jones, J.; Jones, V.; King; Kitzman; Lalani; Lambert; Landgraf; Longoria; Lopez, J.; Lopez, R.; Lujan; Manuel; Martinez; Martinez Fischer; Metcalf; Meyer; Meza; Moody; Morales, C.; Morales, E.; Munoz; Ordaz; Orr; Patterson; Perez, M.; Perez, V.; Phelan; Plesa; Raymond; Richardson; Rodriguez Ramos; Rosenthal; Shaheen; Talarico; Turner; VanDeaver; Villalobos; Vo; Wilson; Zweiner

Nay - Alders; Bowers; Bumgarner; Cain; Collier; Cook; Davis, A.; Davis, Y.; DeAyala; Dorazio; Flores; Frank; Gates; Gonzalez, J.; Gonzalez, M.; Guerra; Harrison; Hickland; Holt; Hopper; Isaac; Kerwin; LaHood; Leo Wilson; Louderback; Lowe; Lozano; Luther; McLaughlin; McQueeney; Money; Morales Shaw; Morgan; Noble; Olcott; Oliverson; Paul; Pierson; Reynolds; Romero; Rose; Schatzline; Schoolcraft; Shofner; Slawson; Smithee; Spiller; Swanson; Tepper; Thompson; Toth; Troxclair; Vasut; Virdell; Walle; Ward Johnson; Wharton; Wu

Absent - Hull; Little; Tinderholt

Present, Not Voting - Burrows; Harris

(Bill summary provided by Texas Policy Research)