LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Texas homeowners have some of the highest property tax bills in the nation, a byproduct of the state’s reliance on such taxes to help pay for public schools and the state’s lack of an income tax.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had asked House leaders to support his push for arming school police officers with bulletproof shields after the Uvalde shooting. House Speaker Dade Phelan is also asking for more money for mental health and school safety programs.

The state’s highest civil court has been asked to decide if Gov. Greg Abbott has the power to cut off funding for legislative staff, a move Abbott hoped would keep Democratic lawmakers from leaving the state and shutting down a special legislative session.

The House Appropriations Committee voted on Friday 21-0 to move forward a bill that would reinstate the funding after Abbott vetoed it to punish House Democrats who broke quorum in the final days of the session to kill two of his priority bills.

Austin Price for The Texas TribuneLong headless, the Legislative Budget Board has a new director: Jerry McGinty of Huntsville, the CFO of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. McGinty has worked at TDCJ for nearly three decades, serving also as budget director and in human resources and communications roles, according to an announcement Thursday from Lt. Gov. “Jerry has the management skills and the extensive experience needed to fulfill the LBB’s core mission of serving and advising lawmakers on prudent fiscal options for our state,” Patrick said in a statement. Jerry McGinty has been named the new director of the Legislative Budget Board. TDCJSome lawmakers, particularly in the Texas House, praise the agency’s work as crucial.

Hundreds of bills passed during the 86th Texas Legislature, and many of them will directly affect the Lake Houston area, including a school finance reform bill, flood mitigation funds and bills seeking to regulate sand-mining companies. Huberty said the percentage of public education funding from the state to school districts has decreased in recent years. The Legislative Budget Board created model runs for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, which are helping school districts predict increased revenue. RELATED Ask the editor: How has renter occupancy changed in the Lake Houston area? You dont need to pass laws to make things happen in the state of Texas, Huberty said.