HOUSTON — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday announced an investigation into 1,000 cities across the state, including Houston, “to ensure they are complying with state law that requires financial transparency and to prevent unlawful tax increases on Texans.”
The investigation stems from a newly-passed Texas law, Senate Bill 1851. According to Paxton’s office, the bill requires cities to publicly post annual financial audits. If they don’t, the cities are not legally allowed to increase taxes.
“Under the law, municipalities that fail to meet these auditing and transparency requirements are prohibited from increasing property tax revenue beyond the previous year’s level,” Paxton’s office said in a news release…