How Texas appraisal districts actually work — and what every property owner should know before protest season. Sourced from CAD records, statute, and case law. Published when we have something worth saying.
Gov. Abbott's reelection-anchor proposal would tighten spending caps, require supermajority votes for tax increases, and — most consequentially — cap appraisal growth at 3% on a five-year cycle for all property classes. That last piece replicates the structure of California's 1978 Proposition 13. Forty-seven years of California operating data exist; most coverage skips them. Plus the state-funding math problem buried in Point #5. An operational read of all five points.
Read the analysis →A Burleson property owner's land value jumped 329% in a single year. Her building didn't change. Her zoning didn't change. The Johnson County Appraisal District quietly repriced a sub-cohort of A1 residential parcels by 200–500% in 2024 — without reclassification, without §25.19 notice, without §23.55 procedure. Anatomy of how it happened, the pattern Texas homeowners should learn to spot, and where the additional revenue actually goes once it's collected.
Read the case study →More posts in the queue. We publish when we have CAD-record-level analysis worth your time — not on a content calendar.