Texas Governor Greg Abbott proposed legislation for the next session to freeze the property tax rates of any city that moves to “defund police.” The move would prevent municipalities like Austin from raising its property tax rate after taking action to defund their own departments.
Texas Republican leaders traveled to Fort Worth to meet with Mayor Betsy Price regarding funding for law enforcement operations. The meeting follows actions by the Austin City Council to strip nearly one-third of that city’s law enforcement budget as part of the “Defund the Police’ movement.
Abbott and the assembled legislators announced plans to introduce a bill in the next session of the Texas Legislature that will severely punish any city that moves to defund its police department by putting a freeze on the city’s current tax rate. Cities subject to this action by the state would not be allowed to raise their property tax rates to raise additional funds. The next session of the Texas Legislature begins in January 2021.
“Any city that defunds its police department will have its property tax revenues frozen ” Governor Abbott warned.
“Part of our collective responsibilities,” Abbott said regarding the leadership gathered at the Fort Worth meeting, “is to ensure the safety and security of all Texans. We will ensure those communities will be protected by law enforcement officers.” – READ MORE
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