AUSTIN, TX (TIP): The Texas House convened for the second special session of the 88th Legislative Session on June 28,, 2023.

Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) issued the following statement:
“With one party in complete control of the legislative process and an unprecedented amount of money in our state treasury generated by working Texans, it’s unimaginable that Republican leadership can’t come together to cut property taxes for Texas families.

“Tax cuts are not hard, and the solutions are well within our reach. What is lacking is the determination to enact meaningful tax policies that would provide much-needed relief to working families. From day one, Texas House Democrats have consistently championed proposals that increase the homestead exemption and have recently advocated for tying these exemptions to a cap on escalating property values. The time has come to stop squandering the people’s tax dollars on special sessions and immediately pass a tax cut policy that delivers the maximum savings to taxpayers. “Nevertheless, if the Governor is intent on forcing us into yet another special session, let us put aside politics and focus our attention on what Texans rightfully expect: a high-quality public education system that invests in our children. Looking at the State Budget, you wouldn’t realize that we have a record amount of money—nearly $33 billion in our checking and $25 billion in our savings. And in this time of prosperity, the State Budget does not dedicate a penny to raising salaries for teachers or funding our schools to catch up with crippling inflation. This budget has billions of dollars for boardrooms but little for classrooms. “So, what happened? At every step, the Governor and the Lt. Governor have been stopped in their efforts to ram through their extremist agenda to pass private school vouchers. In turn, they have taken funding for our teachers and our children hostage. The objective is clear: defund and destroy our public schools. “Our message to the Governor is clear: unless the Legislature acts and acts now before students return in the Fall: more teachers will leave the classroom, more children will be left without qualified educators, and more schools will be left neglected to the dismay of the thousands of families looking to start a new life in our state.”