An Update from Trent Ashby

Date:

It’s September, and that means football season in Texas is back in full swing! Like so many of you, I relish spending my Friday nights this time of year under the bright lights of a football stadium, munching on a box of popcorn, and supporting our East Texas schools. From the band to the drill team, and from the cheerleaders to the football players, I love the way this timeless tradition brings students, parents, grandparents, and residents of a community together to support both their team and each other. Additionally, we’ve got students across our region participating in fall extracurricular activities such as volleyball and cross country, with basketball and soccer just around the corner. Whatever your fancy, I hope that you get to spend some time over the next few months supporting our students and showing your community pride.

With that here’s this week’s legislative update. . .

Legislative Update

This week we’ll dive into propositions three and four, as we continue our weekly examination of propositions that will be on the ballot in November.

Proposition 3 proposes a constitutional amendment to authorize the Legislature to provide for a temporary property tax exemption on portions of land located in an area declared by the Governor to be a disaster area. Given the inherent challenges with appraising property in the wake of a disaster, this amendment would offer home and business owners peace of mind by providing a lower and more easily administrable method of property tax relief to affected parties. It’s important to emphasize that this would only apply to political subdivisions setting tax rates on or after the date the Governor declares a natural disaster.

Proposition 4 has created some confusion that I’ve addressed in a previous column, but I’d like to reiterate in this column. Proposition 4 proposes a constitutional amendment to prohibit the Legislature from imposing a state income tax – something Texas does not currently have. This ballot measure DOES NOT create a statewide income tax. The vote you cast is whether the state should constitutionally ban a state income tax. By voting ‘yes,’ you are saying that the state should constitutionally prohibit the state from imposing an income tax. By voting ‘no,’ you are saying that the state should not include this in the constitution, thus allowing for the possibility of an income tax in the future. Importantly, neither vote – yes or no – would create an income tax on Texans.

Reminders

The mobile office is on the road this month and looks forward to seeing you on the following dates, in the following locations: September 18th at the Houston County Courthouse Annex in Crockett

from 9:00-11:00am, or at the Trinity County Courthouse Annex in Groveton from 1:30-3:30pm; and finally, on September 25th at the San Augustine County Courthouse in San Augustine from 9:00-11:00am.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact our office if we can help you in any way. Our District office may be reached at (936) 634-2762, or you can call my Capitol office at (512) 463-0508.

Rep. Trent Ashby
Trent Ashby is honored to be representing District 57 in the Texas House of Representatives. House District 57 includes Angelina, Houston, Leon, Madison, San Augustine and Trinity Counties. He can be reached at (512) 463-0508, (936)634-2762, or by email at trentashby@house.state.tx.us.

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