High Plains Report

According to a news release from State Representative Carl Isett (R-Lubbock), the Lubbock legislator will file his Taxpayer Protection Act for the fourth session in a row.  The Taxpayer Protection Act is the basis for one of the recommendations in the report by the Governor’s Task Force on Appraisal Reform.The report recommends lowering the allowable increase in tax revenues received by local governments from 8% to 5% of last year's revenues.

Under current law, a local government other than a school district can watch its tax revenues grow up to 8% more than last year without having to worry about reprisal from voters. Rep. Isett's bill will call for 5% and will also make it easier for voters to call for a public election to ratify the proposed tax increase.

“The idea is to lower the ability of a government to continue inflating their budgets and to make city officials accountable to the voters who are having their pockets turned inside out” said Rep. Carl Isett.

Rep. Isett proposed this bill in 2005 during the last legislative session. It was passed by the House and amended in the Senate, but the session ended before a conference committee could hammer out the details. Rep. Isett also proposed the bill in the 2001 and 2003 sessions as well.

Talking about the chances of the bill passing, Rep. Isett said "with the Governor making the issue a key part of his plan for the session, and the Task Force including the goals of this bill in its recommendation, I think we now have enough support to pass this bill and give taxpayers a stronger voice."