The Texas Report 7/7

The Texas Report 7/7

What’s Happening:

• Texas teen reported missing in 2015, has been at home with his mom all along (More here)

• New Democratic Property Tax Plan (More here)

• Texas gets $60 million in federal funds to strengthen power grid (More here)

• Cruz challenger Colin Allred raises $6.2 million in first two months of campaign (More here)

Texas teen reported missing in 2015, has been at home with his mom all along

A Texas man reported missing eight years ago as a teen actually returned home a day later and has been with his mother all along, who deceived police by giving fake names and insisted he was gone in the years before his recent "discovery" at a Houston Church.

Rudolph Farias, 25, was reported missing on March 7, 2015, and despite returning home the next day, his mother "continued to deceive police by remaining adamant that Rudy was still missing."

Houston officers had multiple interactions since March 7 with Farias and his mom, and each misled law enforcement by providing fake names and dates of birth.

The Harris County District Attorney has declined charges, but the "investigation is still active, and new leads are coming in," per Lt. Christopher Zamora.

A week ago, authorities said Farias was found sleeping in front of a Houston church - after purportedly vanishing at 17 while walking his dogs in northwest Houston. This became a widely circulated story, but Lt. Zamora suggested that over the years, police were skeptical that Farias was actually missing and had "collected evidence proving that Rudy was not missing during the eight-year period."

Farias is "with his mother by choice," Zamora said, noting he is 25. Police have contacted Adult Protective Services and connected Farias with the police department's Victim's Services.

Texas House Democrats new Property Tax Plan

Yesterday, Texas House Democrats unveiled their new property tax relief plan as legislators wait for a compromise between Senate and House leadership.

Under the new plan authored by Representative John Bryan (D-Dallas), renters would see a potential cash refund of up to 10% of the rent paid in the previous year. In the press conference for the bill, Bryan said, "​​You can't talk about property tax reductions without talking about every Texan, not only homeowners but also 3.8 million householders who rent their homes."

This legislation would require landlords to submit documents to the state comptroller showing how much tenants paid in rent. Spending on this part of the proposal is capped at $3.8 billion.

Neither the existing Senate nor House proposals include any relief specific for renters. However, some tax policy experts have argued that renters would see relief from the compression of school district tax rates.

Key aspects of the bill:

• The Democrat's proposal would increase homestead exemptions to $100,000 or 25% of a home's appraised value up to $200,000.

• The state's basic allotment (the amount the state gives schools per student) would increase by $1,000, which Bryant said would result in a "permanent" $4,300 pay bump for teachers.

• Money is included to help cut school property tax rates, but not as much as what Republicans have proposed in either chamber.

The new plan by House Democrats maybe highlights their desire to be more involved in the negotiations between the House and Senate on property taxes. But it's hard to see this proposal gaining much traction, considering Governor Abbott has narrowed the focus of the discussion to relief delivered through compressing school property tax rates, and both chambers seem locked in on their current plans.

As has been widely reported, the House and Senate have yet to agree on the best way to spend billions for property tax relief. Despite 140 days of a regular session and over a week into a second extra special session, there isn't a compromise.

However, an agreement may be in the works, as Speaker Phelan and Lt. Governor Patrick reportedly met on Wednesday and "talked about a lot of issues but mainly tax reform & tax relief for needy Texans."

Phelan said he's hopeful but added there's still "plenty of time" for a deal.

Texas gets $60 million in federal funds to strengthen power grid

The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) will receive $60.6 million from the federal government to help strengthen infrastructure on the electric grid.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday that it will award the funds so Texas' power grid might better withstand extreme weather events. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created the grant program.

TDEM will develop parameters to use the money, which could support programs such as trimming trees around powerlines or improving equipment in extreme heat or cold situations.

"These grants will help modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts of extreme weather and natural disasters while enhancing power sector reliability," U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

Cruz challenger Colin Allred raises $6.2 million in first two months of campaign

Congressman Colin Allred, who is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Senator Ted Cruz, raised over $6 million during the first two months of his campaign.

Allred's campaign will report more than $8.6 million for its Federal Elections Commission (FEC) report, with the vast majority of that coming since the campaign launched in early May.

Allred transferred the additional $2.4 million from his House campaign account.

Campaigns do not need to provide their campaign reports for the second quarter to the FEC until July 15.

A recent poll from the University of Texas at Tyler showed Cruz with a 5-point lead and about 14 percent of likely voters saying they were unsure. The Senate race is an extremely uphill battle for Democrats, as Cruz was first elected in 2012 and defeated Beto O'Rourke in 2018 by about 2.5 points.

The Texas Tribune reports that though O'Rourke brought in massive amounts of funding, it took him nine months to raise the $6.2 million Allred has brought in since May.

Allred may not be the only candidate vying for the Democratic nomination as Texas House member Carl Sherman (D-Dallas), and Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) are both seriously weighing running to try and oust Cruz.

National Democrats have targeted Texas as a potential flip state for 2024; however, in the most recent election, Abbott beat O'Rourke by nearly 1 million votes, and the vast majority of Texas counties, specifically in South Texas, have begun leaning more Republican.

Any Texas Democrat trying to win a statewide office faces a significant uphill climb to accomplish something that hasn't been done in over 25 years.

Cruz has yet to release his most recent campaign finance report, though he reported over $3 million cash on hand in March.

Both Allred and Cruz have begun advertising their bipartisan credentials, with Cruz working heading up a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers calling on the Biden administration to speed up project permitting for a handful of bridge projects on the border.