Category Archives: Local Governmental Entities
Local Hotel Occupancy Taxes
If your city doesn’t have a hotel, then local hotel occupancy taxes may not apply to your city. However, just what is a hotel? The answer may surprise you. The definition of “hotel” found in Tax Code Section 156.001 includes uses such as hotel, motel, tourist home, tourist house, tourist court, lodging house, inn,… Read More »
Texas Cities Pay for the State Legislature’s Political Statement
In recent years, lawmakers in Texas have been sending a clear message to the financial industry: banks that take contrary political stances need not apply. Since 2017, the Texas legislature has passed 3 separate laws prohibiting municipalities and state agencies from contracting with banks and investment firms that have enacted ESG guidelines. The term… Read More »
When May a City Place a Lien on Real Property?
The purpose of a municipal lien on real property is for the city to recoup unpaid assessments, bills, and fines. Under what circumstances may a city place a lien though? We find authority for municipal liens in four separate Texas statutes. In each instance, the city council must adopt an ordinance to enforce the… Read More »
Public Facility Corporations
Recently, the Houston Chronicle wrote a story about Public Facility Corporations (“PFCs”) a statutory organizational mechanism provided for in the Local Government Code which allows developers to purchase land in one local jurisdiction, remove it from that jurisdiction’s tax rolls through a statutory tax exemption, and partner with another local jurisdiction which then purchases… Read More »
Municipal Moneyball: Misappropriation of Public Funds
In recent weeks, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has been in the news for some pretty unscrupulous reasons. CBS reports that, “in May of 2020, the Mississippi state auditor announced that the Department of Human Services had wasted tens of millions of dollars in federal money which was intended to help needy families”…. Read More »
Parkland Dedication
Every city needs recreational facilities and green spaces for the pleasure and personal health of its residents. How can a city provide these amenities for its citizens? One way is through parkland dedication. A parkland dedication is a requirement imposed by city ordinance on subdivision developers, mandating that developers dedicate land for parks or… Read More »
The Texas Whistleblower Act
Do two wrongs make a right? Some government employees report what they suspect to be governmental wrongdoing to – for example – either the governing body of the entity or the local police department during or after what they believe to be adverse personnel action or wrongful termination. These governmental employees then claim to… Read More »
Film Friendly and Music Friendly Designation for Texas Communities
The Texas Film Commission’s Film Friendly Program (FFTX) trains municipal leaders about the film production process and how to generate economic development by facilitating filming requests in their community. The program started in 2007 as a certification process, and a marketing program initiated and overseen by the Texas Film Commission. The Texas Film Commission… Read More »
Incentives to Draw Commercial Business to Your Municipality
What are the key incentives to draw commercial business to municipalities in Texas? At the state level here in Texas, there are multiple incentives, not the least of which is no state income tax for businesses that relocate their employees to our state. The following are a few of the common incentive offerings that… Read More »
Regional Councils and Disaster Relief
It is likely that none of us pictured a hurricane or even flooding when we first read “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” where Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes “water water everywhere”. While heat is usually the topic of summer conversation, June 1st through November 30th is hurricane season in Texas. In fact, hurricanes and… Read More »