Spiller: Lawsuits won’t torpedo tax breaks

Gov. Greg Abbott tried to stave off a slew of lawsuits that could delay the implementation of voter-approved constitutional amendments such as higher retirement pay for teachers and property tax relief – by arguing that the lawsuits were served too late to be a legitimate challenge to the results of the Nov. 7 special election.

In court filings last week, the state argued that Gov. Abbott canvassed the election results a day before right-wing groups filed several lawsuits in Travis County challenging the election results. The suits falsely claimed that the state’s voting machines are not properly certified and can be tampered with because they are connected to the internet.

Texas law requires lawsuits challenging elections to be filed and served before the canvass.

In the Nov. 7 special election, voters approved 13 of 14 constitutional amendments, including an increase in the homestead property tax exemption to $100,000 from $40,000, a 2-6 percent cost of living adjustment for retired teachers. The Olney City Council approved a de minimis tax rate to balance the City’s budget based on the results of the election. The deep cuts to property taxes called for in Prop. 4, the state ballot measure, negate the increases in the City’s new de minimis tax rate. Also, retired teachers in District 9, which includes Olney, campaigned hard for Prop. 9, the first increase to teacher retirement benefits since 2005.

“I don’t anticipate that any of that stuff is going to be slowed down [by the lawsuits],” said Rep. David Spiller, who is an attorney. “I haven’t seen the claims they’re making, I don’t know if they have any merit to them - usually they do not. I anticipate that the court is going to validate the election, that everything will proceed as planned. Some of this is … fear-mongering about some of these issues.”

Republicans expressed concern last week that the lawsuits, which under law cannot be arbitrated until 45 days after the election, could delay or jeopardize implementation of the constitutional amendments, most of which passed by wide margins.

In the final days of the fourth-called special session, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 6, which would have sped up the trial date for the lawsuits, but the Texas House could not legally consider it before the session ended last Tuesday, Rep. Spiller said. “Obviously we want that expedited … the problem is that the bill was not on the Governor’s [agenda] for the fourth session. Therefore the House can’t consider that even if we receive it from the Senate. We are limited and we can’t do that.”

Whether the Governor’s legal gambit succeeds, Rep. Spiller pointed out, “When’s the last time a statewide election was overturned?”

Rep. Spiller had no insight into whether Gov. Abbott would call a fifth special session to try again to pass education savings accounts, or school vouchers, but said he had hoped to pass the latest iteration of the measure, which also included increases in teacher pay and schools’ per-student allotments.

House Bill 1 was opposed by Democrats and rural Republicans in the House who argued that it gutted funding for public schools, and deemed it an unconstitutional transfer of taxpayer funds to unregulated private institutions. Rep. Spiller voted for HB1, after amending it to include more money for local schools and a sunset provision that would force lawmakers to re-authorize the voucher program after five years..

“The Governor made it very clear that [vouchers had to pass] if you want these things, and I do as far as the money that we need for school districts,” he said. “The money we were going to get in House District 68 … was more than any other district in the state of Texas under House Bill 1.”