March 14, 2017      6:02 PM

Houston warns Senate on property revenue cap

“The City estimates that the cap has resulted in approximately $220 million lost revenue since 2014, when the cap’s impact was first felt."

The City of Houston has been where the Senate Finance Committee is right now – considering a cap on the growth of revenues – and wouldn’t recommend it.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, has touted the endorsement of his own chamber of commerce, the Greater Houston Partnership, on Senate Bill 2, which he has dubbed The Property Tax Reform and Relief Act of 2017. But he faced a room full of city and county leaders, plus 90 law enforcement chiefs, in opposition to the bill.

This morning’s testimony on SB 2, which is expected to continue this evening, affirmed and reaffirmed the sides in the argument over revenue caps and rollback rates. Bettencourt wants to cap the growth of city budget revenues to no more than 4.5 percent, down from the current 8 percent, which Bettencourt said is a more accurate reflection of the current economy.

By Kimberly Reeves

Copyright March 14, 2017, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved