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I'm Stephanie Wolf with a brief look
at the latest news in Texas politics and

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policy from the Texas Tribune. Voters
will decide whether to approve a twelve point

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seven billion dollar property tax cut package
in early November. Governor Greg Abbott recently

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signed the legislation. This marked the
finale of a month long negotiation between House

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and Senate GOP leaders. It took
a regular legislative session and two special sessions

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to get the deal passed. Legislators
passed three bills to spend billions from a

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historic state budget surplus on reducing Texans
property tax burden, which averages among the

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highest in the country, and if
Texas voters sign off on the plan,

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the cuts will be applied to twenty
twenty three tax bills do in January.

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Here's what you need to know about
the five key parts to the tax cuts.

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Roughly seven point one billion dollars will
go to fund Texas public school districts.

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This is so they can reduce the
taxes that they levy on property owners

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a school district's maintenance and operations.
Property tax rates typically pay for things like

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teacher salaries and campus upkeep. It's
the largest share of many property owners tax

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bills. About five point six billion
would allow the state to more than double

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the current property tax exemption available to
Texans who own the home they primarily live

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in. A homestead exemption is the
amount a homeowner can deduct from the value

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of their home before it's taxed.
Under the new tax cut plan, homeowners

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would be able to take off one
hundred thousand dollars. The law would also

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establish a temporary twenty percent a praisal
cap for the next three years. This

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would apply to commercial, mineral,
and residential properties that don't have a homestead

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exemption. They also have to be
valued less than five million dollars. Another

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piece of tax relief included in the
package is a franchise tax exemption. This

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raises the amount of money a business
can make before paying Texas franchise taxes from

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one point to four million dollars to
two point four seven million, and the

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new legislation adds positions to appraisal district's
boards of directors that would be elected by

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a majority vote. If voters pass
the package, most of these measures would

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go into effect without any action needed
on the part of the property owner.

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The exception is homeowners who haven't gotten
a homestead exemption before, they would need

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to apply through their counties Appraisal district
office. You can find more details about

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how these changes could affect your property
tax bill at Texas Tribune dot org.

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For years, the state's environmental agency
has denied resident challenges against air polluters when

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those residents live more than a mile
away from the company seeking a pollution permit.

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It's known as the one mile rule, and polluters have cited it as

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precedent, claiming that those citizens have
no legal right to challenge their permitting process.

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Yet the one mile rule is not
found anywhere in state law nor in

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the agency's rules. The Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality confirms such a rule does

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not exist, and a representative says
they review a number of factors when they

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make determinations, but it shows up
consistently in the agency's rulings going back at

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least thirteen years. Environmental advocates and
some legal professionals say the one mile practice

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is allegal and arbitrary. Federal law
acquire states to give citizens the chance to

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oppose pollution permits in federal court.
It's laid out in the US Constitution and

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there's nothing in there about distance limits. A number of Texas environmental groups have

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petitioned the EPA saying the TCQ unlawfully
uses the one mile rule to restrict citizen

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rights and limit access to judicial review. Litigants in a lawsuit against a Texas

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oil company are challenging the rule.
They're awaiting a fall hearing and a federal

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court. Two Democrats who have held
their respective elected offices for decades are running

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for Houston mayor. State Senator John
Whitmeier previously served in the state House before

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being elected to the Senate in nineteen
eighty two, and US Representative Sheila Jackson

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Lee has been in Congress since nineteen
ninety five. She previously served on the

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Houston City Council. The city's mayoral
race is November seventh, but it's a

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crowded field, meaning there could be
a runoff, which might fall after the

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mid December deadline for Jackson Lee and
Whitmeyer to decide whether they'll run for reelection

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and their current seats. Both are
considered front runners for the Houston mayoral ship,

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and if either give up their current
offices, it's likely to set off

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a series of political dominoes. That
could open the door for a new generation

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of democratic leadership across the city.
A Democrat already running for Jackson Lee's congressional

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seat said quote, It's an exciting
time in Houston politics, to say the

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least. We have a favor to
ask. Would you go to Texas Tribune

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dot org slash brief survey to take
a five minute listener survey. This is

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the best way for Texas Tribune journalist
to know what works and what doesn't for

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our podcast. The link again is
Texas Tribune dot org slash survey. There's

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also a link in the show notes. We appreciate your feedback. Check for

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updates to any of the stories you
heard in today's episode at Texas Tribune dot

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org and follow the Brief podcast for
daily news updates wherever you get your podcast.

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I'm Stephanie Wolf with the Texas Tribune. You've been briefed. Today's Brief

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is brought to you by Austin Community
Foundation. Austin Community Foundation mobilizes ideas and

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resources to address the biggest issues in
Central Texas. Learn more at austincf dot

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org, slash giveback and join us
on Thursday, August third for a conversation

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on adapting to a hotter Texas.
We'll talk with community advocates and local officials

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from South Texas and El Paso about
how Texans can work together to address the

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danger of extreme heat. Learn more
in rs VP at Texas Tribune dot org. Slash events