Texas
Tax relief for business owners passes Texas House
AUSTIN _ Business owners could exempt a quarter-million dollars worth of computers, furniture and other equipment from their annual taxes under legislation the Texas House overwhelmingly approved on Wednesday.
Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-University Park, brought forward the proposals that passed with 90% support in the GOP-dominated chamber. If the legislation passes the Texas Senate, voters will need to approve it in November for it to go into effect in this tax year.
The measures — House Bill 9 and House Joint Resolution 1 — are the cornerstone of House Speaker Dustin Burrows’ priority property tax reform package for the House.
The bill provides “the second largest exemption of its kind in the country and will provide substantial savings to businesses across the state,” Meyer said.
The legislation raises the personal property tax exemption for businesses from $2,500 to $250,000 – a tenfold increase in the amount of value that businesses owners don’t have to claim on items critical to their companies’ day-to-day operations.
Items that, supporters point out, owners already paid sales tax on when they purchased them. Avoiding a second round of taxes means they can put more into their families and businesses, said Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville.
“It’ll help them provide for their children, and that’s money that goes back into the economy,” Little said. “This bill helps those small businesses ensure that they can continue to operate those small businesses by accepting things that they already paid taxes on.”
Attempts to raise the exemption to $500,000 or a million dollars failed in floor votes.
About a dozen House members opposed the bill, arguing that local governments would have to make up the loss in revenue by raising prices for services — putting the tax cut for businesses on the backs of everyday Texans who may already struggle every day.
Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, said 82% of the businesses in Fort Worth would pay no taxes on personal business property at all if the exemption were increased to $250,000.
“This would have a huge loss to the city of Fort Worth, and it’s going to be a big burden to our taxpayers,” Collier said. “I’m trying to think of the other ways that they could make up the difference. Raising the water bill, raising garbage collection rates. These are all things that are passed on to the consumer.”
Meyer responded that if the cities can’t tighten their belts to make up for the lost revenue, that’s not the taxpayers’ problem.
“A lot of the local taxing entities are taking in way too much money as we speak,” he said. “They are taking it from our constituents, and so that would be something that they would need to deal with. But quite frankly, they take enough from our constituents as we sit here today.”
GAINESVILLE, Texas (KXII) – Medal of Honor week continued in Gainesville on Thursday with the grand opening of the new Medal of Honor Museum at North Central Texas College (NCTC).
“Let this museum stand as a lasting tribute,” Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said, speaking to the large crowd and the recipients. “May it inspire future generations to love this country, to serve your neighbors, and to live with the same values that you upheld.”
Leaders from across the region and the state came to salute this major milestone.
“More than 100,000 students, citizens, and visitors will walk through NCTC’s campus each year,” Rep. Brandon Gill said. “That’s 100,000 lives touched, taught, and transformed, and they’ll all remember that the Medal of Honor isn’t given, it’s earned.”
A statement echoed by Sen. Brent Hagenbuch (R-Texas).
“There’s only a precious few that were called and answered the call to the level of warranting a Congressional Medal of Honor, and I so appreciate you all,” he said. “It’s a great, great honor to meet you, and I hope you can see how much we appreciate you.”
Medal of Honor recipient James Taylor said this museum was in the works for over two decades.
“We had a dream about this,” he said. “This here means so much to me, and all the friends that I’ve met down there over 23 years, I can’t replace them and I think about them every day.”
NCTC Chancellor Dr. Brent Wallace said the emotion in the air on Thursday was powerful.
“I’ve seen a lot of tears today,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of the family, especially of our recipients, that are brought to tears seeing their loved one’s memorabilia displayed in a beautiful facility.”
The museum won’t officially open to the public for a few more weeks, but those in attendance got a sneak peek.
“It’s just fantastic that the population of Gainesville and the surrounding area, you’ve got to come, this is the jewel, it is precious and it’s wonderful,” Taylor said.
And for the younger generations, he had a simple piece of advice.
“Live your dream,” he said. “Set your goals, never quit, and never give up.”
A full list of times and events still to come this week is as follows:
- Friday, 10 a.m. — Tree Dedication at Homegrown Hero Walking Trail
- Friday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. — Ticketed Banquet at the Gainesville Civic Center
- Saturday, 10 a.m. — Medal of Honor Parade through Downtown Gainesville
- Saturday, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. — Book Signing at the Gainesville Civic Center
Copyright 2025 KXII. All rights reserved.
SAN ANTONIO – After years of fighting the release of the A-F Accountability grades, Texas Public School districts will get their results for the 2022-2023 school year.
A decision by a 15th Court of Appeals judge called for the release of the grades.
The grades will be made available to school districts on April 17 and to the public on April 24, 2025.
To check the grades, click here.
Ruben De Los Santos with Futuro San Antonio, a local nonprofit, said it’s important for families to look at the grades, find out how their child is doing and compare that to how their child’s school scored.
“The A-F rating is not a perfect thing,” De Los Santos said. “But it’s definitely not something that we should see as the only thing that I’m judging my school by. But it definitely helps tell a story about what’s going on in my children’s school and whether or not it’s working for my family or not. ”
De Los Santos said it’s also important to remember that the data is not current. The results for the 2024 A-F Accountability grades are still held up in court.
Read more:
Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.
HOUSTON – Texas Southern University (TSU) is on lockdown as Houston Police investigate a nearby shooting.
The TSU Police Department says the shooting happened in the area of Ennis and Rosewood, nearby but not on campus.
Homicide detectives are en route to the 2900 block of Rosewood St. near Ennis St. after a man was found fatally shot inside a vehicle about 2:30 pm.
Witnesses reported seeing two male suspects fleeing the scene on foot. A search is ongoing. Please avoid the area.#hounews
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) April 9, 2025
HPD confirms a man was found fatally shot in a vehicle in the 2900 block of Rosewood.
Police are searching for the suspects, last seen heading south towards the TSU campus.
One of the suspects is described as thin with short dreadlocks wearing a white T-shirt and dark colored shorts and a white backpack.
The second suspect is described as a heavyset Black male with dreadlocks last seen with a white shirt and a black backpack.
The campus is currently on lockdown and students are told to stay indoors.
Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
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