Attorney General Ken Paxton is escalating his confrontation with local governments over property tax compliance, launching a sweeping investigation into nearly 1,000 Texas cities.
This comes just months after previously ordering four municipalities to pause their newly adopted tax rates amid allegations of audit violations.
Paxton’s office said the widened review is aimed at ensuring strict adherence to Senate Bill 1851, the new state law that bars any city out of audit compliance from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate.
In the fall, Paxton sent direct letters to Whitesboro, La Marque, Odessa, and Tom Bean, accusing each of improperly approving tax increases while failing to meet required audit deadlines or financial disclosure obligations. At the time, his office ordered all four cities to halt implementation of their tax rates and produce detailed records.
Now, according to Paxton, what began as targeted inquiries has revealed a broader pattern of cities “routinely failing” to comply with financial transparency laws.
“Local officials will not be allowed to ignore the law, cover up their finances, and burden Texans with never-ending tax increases,” Paxton said when announcing the expansion. He added that while some municipalities already complied with the law, the scope of noncompliance uncovered by his office necessitated an aggressive statewide review.
Paxton’s latest action moves beyond citizen-initiated complaints and now includes proactive audit requests to cities of all sizes, including Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Lubbock, El Paso, Corpus Christi, and Waco. That number is expected to grow.
No ads. No paywalls. No government grants. No corporate masters.
Just real news for real Texans.
Support Texas Scorecard to keep it that way!
