Billions of dollars in investment are being targeted at Central Texas. The projects all have something in common: They are seeking Chapter 313 incentives from local school districts. How does the program work, and why are we seeing so many applications all of a sudden?

Craymer said the role of state government is indirect at best when it comes to property taxes because rates are set locally and not by the governor or Legislature.

Tax rates across the state are now dropping, and tax bills, though rising, are increasing at their slowest rate in years — well below the growth rate of Texans’ personal income and inflation.

“It is a victory,” Dale Craymer, president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, said during an interview on Capital Tonight.  “The measure of that victory will be up to others to decide.”

Community Impact Newspaper spoke with Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project for The University of Texas; Dale Craymer, president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association; and Dick Lavine, senior fiscal analyst for Every Texan, to break down the two propositions before voters head to the polls.