Texas Legislature Finishes The 2019 Session

With the 2019 session now history, we had some good things for conservatives and some things we didn't get done.

This week let's salute what we got done:

1. Property tax reform with a cap on an increase in property tax revenue limited to 3.5% (the Senate started at 2.5%), above triggers an automatic rollback election. School districts are subject to a 2.5% limit with an automatic rollback election. There are some provisions limiting the impact on smaller taxing jurisdictions.
    
2. School finance reform which has been pending for years as most of us hate the Robin Hood school finance plan, that even was starting to impact districts like Houston with lower economic class of students who have significant education needs.
    
3. The Legislature created a state flood infrastructure fund in response to Hurricane Harvey and other natural disasters.
    
4. Born Alive Act that protects children born during a failed abortion attempt. One wonders why this isn't standard procedure, but the left will say this interferes with a woman's right to choose.
    
5. Religious Freedom Bill - basically prohibits government entities from taking adverse actions on people or businesses based on their religious beliefs.
    
6. School safety is the Legislature's answer to improve the safety of children in response to school shootings. It also addresses mental health issues.