Harris County Hustle

The HCAD/HCTAC Coin

Published by

nonsequiteuse

on

What does the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) Board of Directors really do?

How is that connected to the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar (HCTAC-VR, or TAC, or tax assessor) Race?

So I vote again in May, and then again in June, before voting again in November? Is this some sort of civic torture?

Here’s the TL;dr:

  1. Right now, the HCAD Board doesn’t do much, but all it takes is one bill getting passed into law next session by the GOP majority to change that, and odds are, that’s their plan.
  2. It’s connected in several ways, one of which is that the HCTAC-VR is an ex officio member of the HCAD board, and another of which is that the TAC some leeway (within the bounds of the law, which can change with one bill in one session) in how to implement the mechanics of tax assessment and collection.
  3. So yes, if you live in Harris County (and a few other major urban counties) and care about taxes, fairness, and the future of Texas, or you just don’t trust Texas Republicans, or both, and want to vote for candidates who share your values, you have to vote at the end of May, then again in June, then in November.

Here’s the long – very long – version.

At this moment, the HCAD Board of Directors does not have much statutory power. They function similarly to other governing boards, in that they review the agency’s finances and approve major contracts, agreements, or memoranda of understanding. They can’t affect the tax rate or change a tax assessment. You can check out their board meeting agendas to get a feel for the non-stop excitement that goes down when they meet.

Until this year, that was pretty much it. The law didn’t give them any more power. If it had, we’d be having a different conversation about what we do or do not think this board should be empowered to do, rather than the conversation we’ve been having.

Last session in Austin, Republican anti-tax activist Senator Paul Bettencourt (who owns a property tax protest firm and so has a very personal financial stake in property tax issues) proposed a bill and got it added to a constitutional amendment so that in the 50 largest counties in Texas, all of a sudden, some board seats would be elected. What’s his end game?

We don’t know for sure and he’s not saying. And he wouldn’t have any obligation to tell you the truth if you asked.

The assumption is that if Bettencourt’s preferred candidates win, then in the legislative session that starts in January 2025, he or someone aligned with him can propose legislation expanding the board’s power.

Would it pass?

  • The House and Senate are majority Republican, as is the Governor.
  • The bill would likely only apply to the same 50 largest counties, so the majority of legislators wouldn’t really care one way or another, but wouldn’t have any strong reason to oppose it unless they wanted to anger the Republican power structure. The power structure that is ready and willing to fund opponents to run against anyone who opposes them in rural districts.

Keep in mind, Texas has 254 counties, so numerically, even though Harris, Bexar, Travis, Dallas, and a few other counties are majority Democratic, there are too many smaller counties and districts for Democrats to have a majority in the legislature at this time.

That’s why Bettencourt, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and others who want to get bills passed to thwart progressive policies and practices in urban Democratic areas (i.e. Houston, Austin, San Antonio, etc.) will often put a population limit on a bill. Rural Republicans can vote for things knowing that they won’t affect them or their constituents.

So we’re in this weird position of playing defense, knowing what we know about Republican politics in Texas. And knowing that of the appointed positions on the HCAD board, most are held by people who are Republicans. And seeing that the candidates Bettencourt supported in each of the HCAD races were people who have been outspoken anti-tax Republicans and aligned with hyper-conservative activist movements including the Tea Party.

If you pay property taxes, you can be forgiven for thinking to yourself hey, is it really so bad to have anti-tax activists setting policy and passing laws, because maybe then I’ll get a break…

And I get that. I do.

But as numerous people have pointed out, our state not having an income tax means the money to keep things going has to come from somewhere, and right now, that’s property taxes.

Taxes will never feel good, so the most we can strive for is fair and reasonable. And it is reasonable to think that as a shared burden, it would be nice if we could each pay our way proportionally and progressively.

Turns out income taxes set up the way federal taxes are, with brackets etc., are a pretty decent way to do that, because then people pay more only as they earn more, and to some extent, each person can control their earnings.

And property taxes are not, particularly if you do not have generational wealth. One legacy of segregation, red-lining, and racially-restricted real estate covenants is that some people are structurally less likely to have generational wealth derived from property ownership. Guess who?

And even taking the legacy of institutional racism out of it, think of it this way. If your grandfather earned $1M a year but you earn $70,000 a year, you’re not going to get taxed any higher because of what he earned. But if he gives you the family farm, you’re going to be taxed on the value of that farm no matter how much income you earn. Could you sell it? Sure. But then that’s the end of the asset having value to you and your family.

In the system we have, with very few exceptions, only people who are already wealthy can hold onto assets that continue generating non-income wealth.

So property taxes are not only regressive, inasumuch as they aren’t tied to earning potential and have a flat rate and a few other things, but they can also have a disproportionally higher negative impact on people of color and their ability to create generational wealth through property ownership. Which let’s just shorthand as the American Dream of buying your cute house with the picket fence etc. etc.

Are there people who buck the system? Yes, and that’s the beauty of capitalism. But this is a system, and the issues are systemic, so even if some individuals can beat the odds, the sytem is not set up to create the conditions for just anyone to do so, and in fact, was set up to make it harder for some. And if you look at the demographics of the 50 largest counties compared to the smaller ones, you’ll see where that system has a bigger impact.

SO that’s what is at stake with property tax issues. Will the HCAD Board be able to completely re-write our tax code and level the playing field? No. But if you are thinking systemically, you want to control as many levers in the process as possible, and CAD boards in large counties are bigger levers than in smaller ones. Laws can change.

From a systemic, strategic perspective, then, we have to care about who sits on the CAD boards.

We have to care about who sits in the Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar’s office, too. [This post won’t cover the Voter Registar function, but a long one soon will.]

The Tax Assessor, like the HCAD board, has no control of the tax rate or the valuations that HCAD assigns to property. The Tax Assessor has to follow the law, as all elected officials do.

Forget, for now, the admittedly speculative and vague warning that the law could change.

The Tax Assessor follows the law, and the law, as it happens, has some specific provisions that can, if utilized appropriately and at the right time, reduce the tax burden that a person bears.

The Tax Assessor can just sit in their office and send you your bill. But they can also be strategic with outreach and education efforts. They can hold clinics and information sessions throughout the county about exemptions and deferrals and the rather confusing language of how this all works.

They can help new business owners understand the types of property taxes they’ll be liable for, which can catch new business owners by surprise. You pay taxes on the things you use to “produce income” in your business, which could include your inventory. Yes, the inventory you have paid for, but haven’t sold yet. And the expensive equipment you use to make the things you sell. That will be appraised by the CAD and then the tax on that appraisal assessed and collected by the TAC.

There are ways to minimize your tax burden in all of these situations. Some you should talk to an accountant about, but generally speaking, the TAC’s office is well within the bounds of the law to proactively flag issues that all business owners should consider.

The CAD could be doing this kind of education, too. In each instance, of course, there would need to be funds allocated for public education, training, and outreach. The HCAD Board and the TAC, in crafting a budget, would have to prioritize those functions.

Ergo you want a TAC and an HCAD board that feels an obligation to work with the public, with small business owners and people who’ve inherited property but aren’t familiar with the logistics of ownership and property taxes. You want someone who understands and wants to help people who have heirs property, which is another term to google if you want to see how small farms and Black families in particular are affected by this common situation that can all too easily cause someone to lose their land before seeing any financial benefit from it.

If you are someone who gets the majority of your campaign contributions from executives of major corporations that have large land-holdings and massive property tax liabilities, you might also want to have a heavier hand on the levers in the CAD and TAC offices. You might want someone who is more sympathetic to those constituents to hold those seats. Or if you made money because people feel their taxes are too high but they are confused by the language that outlines how property tax appraisals can be challenged.

If you are, say, a Republican politician. You want others like you in these seats.

You have read this far so you have figured out that I am not a Republican. I am an almost life-long Texan, and I’ve seen what this state has done in the past few decades with Republicans holding most major statewide and legislative offices.

I do not like it. I do not like how they have restricted people’s rights and imposed their religious beliefs on others in a country that explicitly forbids the state to favor one religion over another. I’ve seen corporations get leniency when it comes to environmental remediation while working class families suffer under crushing medical bills to treat illnesses caused by the stuff that should have been remediated. I’m constantly stunned by their determination to undermine the public education system that the Texas Constitution requires them to maintain.

So I’m going to keep talking about why we need to elect people who will bring progressive policies to the table in positions of power. Often those will be Democrats. Almost exclusively, in fact, given how the 2-party system works in Texas and who holds the power. So that’s why I care about the HCAD board and Tax Assessor race – that’s my bias. Everyone has one and I’m sure mine wss showing before you got this far.

I hope you’ll vote in the May 28th election (early voting is only 5 days, 5/20 – 5/24) for the candidates who reflect progressive values that will favor everyday Texans. In Harris County, those candidates on the Democratic primary runoff ballot will be:

(There will be a few other races on the May 28 runoff ballot but I don’t have the full list and this post is long enough.)

Then, I ask you to vote in what will be an incredibly low turn-out race on Saturday, June 15, 2024, for:

Links to other bloggers talking about those races – the judicial races in particular – and how they fit into the progressive agenda:

Leave a comment

Previous Post