The Texas Comptroller’s Office has adopted a rules change that alters the way sales tax is allocated for online purchases. The new rule would change more than 50 years of practice by collecting sales tax based on the location of the buyer (destination-based) rather than the location of the sale (source-based). Implementation of the rule change is currently on hold pending litigation. We believe this rules change should be negated and any change should be made through the established legislative process rather than through administrative rules changes.

A change to destination sourcing would cost too much and produce little, if any, benefit. It places a large burden on businesses - especially small businesses - that ship, mail, or deliver to customers in multiple parts of Texas. They will have to obtain expensive new software, or hire professional help, to track the sales tax rates of more than 1,400 taxing entities. This will be particularly burdensome for businesses that provide services at a customer’s location, such as pest control and landscaping. More than 20,000 new addresses are added in Texas every month that the Comptroller and small businesses statewide will have to track for destination sourcing.

We understand that additional property tax relief is a priority of the 89th Texas Legislature. As the Legislature considers this important issue, we ask that you consider there are certain fixed costs of necessary services, such as police and fire, that make up the majority of municipal budgets. If property tax is reduced or capped, money has to come from other sources to avoid the reduction or elimination of vital services that residents expect and deserve.

When similar measures are considered during the coming legislative session, there must be some effort made to balance the impacts of those measures so that they do not inadvertently shift the tax burden to property owners who do not directly benefit from the measure.

Rapid population growth, limited housing stock, high construction costs, and inflationary pressures have combined to make affordable housing a serious challenge for many Texas families. Nationally, 49 percent of Americans say affordable housing is a major problem in their local community. Lewisville City Council has heard from a growing group of seniors living on fixed incomes who are struggling, often unsuccessfully, to keep up with rapid rent increases during the past two years. We believe the far-reaching scope of this problem warrants immediate attention from the Legislature.

Lewisville supports comprehensive research by state officials to identify short- and long-term solutions for this statewide problem. Options might include grant and incentive programs to developers of affordable housing, grant programs to assist fixed-income seniors with their housing costs, and applying residential eviction processes to residents in an extended stay hotel property who have received an exemption from Hotel Occupancy Tax under Texas law.

We also believe that legislative intervention is needed to close a current loophole in Texas law that allows a PFC in one jurisdiction to purchase a property in another jurisdiction, removing that property from the second jurisdiction's tax roll, in exchange for cash payments from the property developed. Cameron County PFC has purchased two properties in Lewisville. Removing those properties from the tax roll cost our city $500,000 in property tax revenue this year while Cameron County PFC received a cash payment equal to a percentage of tax revenue being taken from the city, county, and school district where the properties are located and public services are provided. We do not believe this loophole is in keeping with the intent or purpose of Texas law and should be closed.

As Texas’ population grows, traffic congestion worsens, and the state of Texas population is currently projected to double to 55 million people by 2050. The state’s highway capacity cannot keep up with that growth, and all options will be necessary to handle the transportation needs of 55 million people, including public transit. Currently, the state does not provide any state funding for public transportation. We encourage the Legislature to invest in the future of Texas by allocating some funding to expand public transit infrastructure in the metropolitan areas. This would have a positive impact on both affordable housing woes and the current workforce shortage. Public transportation also helps to reduce road congestion and travel times, air pollution, and energy and oil consumption, all of which benefit both riders and non-riders alike.

The 98th Texas Legislature passed a bill authorizing Texas State Technical College (TSTC) to locate a new campus in Denton County. TSTC is the only college in Texas whose funding depends on its students working after graduation. TSTC is efficiently and effectively helping Texas meet the high-tech challenges of today’s global economy, in partnership with business and industry, government agencies, and other educational institutions. With more than 50 years serving Texas, TSTC is a public coeducational institution of higher education offering courses of study in technical education leading to the award of Certificates and Associate of Applied Science degrees. They also provide technical education and training to business and industry, continuing education to the public, and training programs for community and state economic development.

The placement of a TSTC campus in Denton County will prepare today’s workforce for tomorrow’s jobs, including vital fields that currently have labor shortages. It will make Denton County and all of North Texas more competitive in attracting new and thriving industries, which will lead to even more high-quality jobs seeking a prepared and eager workforce. Lewisville believes strongly in the long-term potential of a TSTC campus in Denton County.”

All but one of the 10 TSTC campuses were built with state dollars appropriated by the Legislature. We do not believe this campus was authorized without a strong desire that the project be successful, and waiting an undetermined number of years for local fundraising through industry and local government agencies would add great uncertainty to the project’s ultimate success. We support state funding for land acquisition and campus construction so that TSTC can open its 11th campus and serve a major metropolitan market that is ready to receive trained and skilled workers for industry for today and tomorrow.

There are 962 cities and towns in Texas, each one with its own unique mix of opportunities and challenges. Each one has local leaders who are chosen by their neighbors to represent them on many important matters. This includes serving as a voice for those residents in the legislative process.

However, those elected leaders do not have the time to spend months in Austin to track bills and actively participate in the legislative process. Eliminating their ability to have professionals to represent their citizens’ interests in Austin, or prohibiting cities from paying dues to professional organizations that engage in lobbying, would effectively silence the voice of the men and women who have been chosen by their neighbors to represent them.

Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for building and maintaining the state’s highway system. This includes aesthetic maintenance such as mowing and trash/debris collection. However, in recent years, infrastructure costs have risen to the point that aesthetic maintenance has suffered. We receive many complaints from Lewisville residents about the appearance of the state highways running through our city. This reflects badly on our community and could, over time, have negative economic impacts. The TxDOT district office attempts to remedy those issues but is not always able to do so in a timely manner due to limited resources. We would like to see increased resources be made available to TxDOT and dedicated specifically to aesthetic maintenance of state highways, especially along urban highways such as IH-35E through Lewisville.