DALLAS – In a softening statewide economy, Texas voters will determine the fate of $9.1 billion of local bond proposals, an estimated $2.5 billion of new funding for transportation, and a reduction in local property taxes.
Of the 105 local bond proposals on Tuesday's ballot, 45 are for school districts, 39 are for cities, 14 are for counties, and seven are for municipal utility districts, according to the Texas Comptroller's Office.
The November ballot requests are about $3.7 billion larger than those on the May ballot, which had 93 proposals, according to the consulting firm Strategic Partnerships Inc. Of the $5.4 billion on the May ballot, voters approved 70 proposals worth $3.9 billion.
The statewide Proposition 7 would amend the Texas Constitution to authorize diversion of state sales tax and motor vehicle sales taxes to highway projects.
Beginning in September 2017, if state sales tax revenue exceeds $28 billion in a fiscal year, the next $2.5 billion of revenue would be directed to the State Highway Fund.
Beginning in September 2019, if state motor vehicle sales and rental tax revenue exceeds $5 billion in a fiscal year, 35% of the amount in excess of $5 billion would be directed to the State Highway Fund.
The measure comes a year after voters approved a diversion of money from the state's rainy day fund for transportation projects. The rainy day fund is made up of state revenue from oil and gas production.
Originally pitched as a response to the booming oil economy of the state, the 2014 measure has seen estimates falling with depressed oil prices. Comptroller Glenn Hegar initially estimated the measure would provide $1.2 billion each year but revised that to $1.13 billion for fiscal year 2016 that began on Sept. 1.
Anticipated revenue fell by nearly $600 million for the following year.
The state's voters will also get a chance to reduce their property taxes under Proposition 1. With no state income tax, Texas relies on local property taxes to fund schools and sales tax to fund state government operations.
Current state law exempts $15,000 of assessed property value from taxation under the homestead exemption. Proposition 1 would raise the exemption to $25,000.
Among school districts, Dallas Independent School District has the largest proposal on the local ballot at $1.6 billion.
Proceeds from the bond package are anticipated to create nine Dallas ISD schools, 326 new classrooms, a variety of new educational programs, and facility improvements.
If approved, the bond proposal is not expected to raise tax rates and the bond proceeds would fund several new schools and a variety of school and facility improvements that support academic programs. The projected tax rate is $1.282 per $100 of assessed value and is based on assumptions regarding future property values, interest rates, and other factors.
Opponents of the bond package, operating under the name Justice Seekers Texas, argue the proposed plan offers too many patchwork fixes for older campuses, leaving some in danger of being closed.
As voters in Dallas ISD consider whether they can afford to issue more debt, voters in the wealthy enclave of Highland Park will decide whether to borrow $361 million for the district's tradition-rich schools.
In Dallas' affluent northern suburbs, the fast-growing Allen ISD is seeking $273 million.
As in the past, many of the largest school bond elections are in the Houston suburbs. The Aldine ISD is asking voters to approve $798 million of school construction bonds, while voters in Conroe ISD are considering $487 million.
Among the counties, Harris, the most populous is seeking $848 million, with most of it, $700 million dedicated to roads in the booming area.
Most of the seven municipal utility districts seeking nearly $1 billion of bond authority are also in suburban Houston.
Harris County and its adjacent counties are the largest aggregation of MUDs in the state. To the north, affluent Montgomery County is asking voters for $280 million for roads, a second request after voters rejected a 2014 proposal.
