DALLAS, Texas — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke spoke on an issue many Texas homeowners are facing.
O'Rourke was in Dallas on Wednesday speaking on property tax hikes that people are seeing around the state of Texas. He spoke in south Oak Cliff, where he said some families are on the verge of being priced out.
The Democratic candidate for governor shared solutions to help ease the anxiety some families are facing with climbing property taxes in the state. In a direct effort to reduce property taxes, he talked about leveling the playing field for homeowners and corporate property owners through legislation.
"Corporate property owners are able to bring down their bills by billions of dollars every year," O'Rourke said. "As governor, I'm going to make sure we have full sales price disclosure in the state of Texas, which means homeowners and renters will pay less going forward."
He also said he would work with local governments to increase housing inventory and address shortages and increasing the state's portion of funding for public education. More controversially, he talked of expanding Medicaid and legalizing marijuana.
He said both the latter proposals would increase the revenue streaming into the state, which would allow for the reduction of property taxes at the local level and addressing public policy issues that have been central to his campaign.
"In the ninth largest economy on the planet in the wealthiest country in the world, it is not for lack of resources, it is for lack of political will and leadership right now," O'Rourke said in response to a question on whether the state has the funds to expand Medicaid and increase its share of public school funding.
"When current leadership is more invested in stunts like shutting down commercial trade at the border, like spending $5 billion on political theater where our state meets Mexico and the rest of the world, those are resources that could have been invested in public education, for example, to meet that 50% goal that is totally attainable," he said.
Watch the full press conference here:
Gov. Abbott, running for re-election against O'Rourke, recently spoke about his plan to cut back property taxes for homeowners and property owners alike with a "taxpayer bill of rights." The proposal shares ideas of bringing down school district tax rates, and reforming local government debt policies.
Abbott's campaign promise also lays out plans to reduce property taxes for small business owners with an exemption.
"Under my taxpayer bill of rights, businesses would receive a property tax exemption on up to $100,000 of their business personal property that will lower the cost of doing business for these small businesses that will spur the economy even more, spur their capability of hiring more people, pay more people so that businesses can continue to grow," Abbott said during a stop in Tyler, Texas on April 4.
O'Rourke's comments on property taxes come as appraisals are starting to be sent out around the state, shocking some property owners in areas where appraisals have skyrocketed.
In Central Texas, the chief appraiser for Travis County, Mayra Crigler, recently said the latest numbers are shocking but they were expected. She recommended that property owners file a homestead exemption.
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