The head of a Texas House committee overseeing marquee GOP legislation to constrain property tax increases said Wednesday that he was open to shifting the bill in whatever direction gets it “right.” Hoping to “make the bill better in either direction,” state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and author…

A key Republican state senator has declared his opposition to a GOP priority bill that would restrict local property tax collections, saying it usurps too much control from local officials and the voters who elect them.

“We have substantial costs associated with Hurricane Harvey that the state needs to address,” Dale Craymer at theTexas Taxpayers and Research Association . “But I think also the state has a number of problems such as our pension systems.”

As mayors and county commissioners in recent days have sharply criticized legislation that would place strict limits on increasing property tax collections — saying the limits could force cuts in basic services — school district officials have remained on the sidelines as they await proposals to boost school spending.

More than in any legislative session since the Great Recession, Texas lawmakers are signaling a willingness this year to dip into the state’s massive savings account. As the Legislature debates costly investments in property tax reduction and public schools, and with big bills coming due for retired teachers’ pensions and Hurricane Harvey recovery, Texas’ Economic…