The City Council was briefed this week on results of the 89th Texas Legislative Session and the impacts of new legislation on local government.
The review focused on 29 bills passed into law that impact Fiscal Management, Economic Vibrancy, Utilities and Environment, Open Government, Public Safety and General Government.
Of note:
- HJR1 – requires a constitutional amendment, to be voted on in the Nov. 4, 2025 election. If passed, it will approve HB9, which provides a property tax exemption for $125,000 of the market value of tangible personal property (also known as business personal property) owned by an individual that is used to produce income (previous baseline was less than $2,500 of taxable value). It goes into effect Jan. 1, 2026 if the constitutional amendment is approved by voters and would reduce Richardson’s property tax revenue by almost $1.5M.
- SB924 – prohibits municipalities from charging a cable franchise on a video service provider. Current law allows the City to collect 5 percent of a provider’s gross revenue. Estimated financial loss to Richardson: up to $450,000. Effective Sept. 1, 2025
- SB1567 – prohibits cities with universities from limiting the number of people who may occupy a dwelling based on age, familial or relationship status.
- HB500 – supports the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium with all unexpended and unobligated balances remaining from appropriations last session from the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (also known as the CHIPS Act)—the amount estimated to benefit the Consortium is $572.9M. The City of Richardson, UT Dallas and local industry leaders are members. Effective June 22, 2025
Monday’s presentation: Click here
