"I think there are much bigger forces at work than anybody knows," Ken Nolan, Dallas County's chief appraiser, tells GlobeSt.com. "I'm not sure this whole thing wasn't staged from the beginning. Give it lip service, let it pass and let it slowly die as time ran out."
Texas' 79th session ended Monday amid Perry's vow to call a special session to iron out the impasse for a public school finance bill, which had commercial disclosure changes embedded in the plan. The likelihood of a special session is slim, says William Allaway, president of the Austin-based Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. The reality is the non-disclosure measure "didn't have enough friends," he says, citing repeated amendments that volleyed between making all sale information public or ripping commercial properties from the legislation.
"In the end, there really wasn't anybody interested in passing it," Allaway says. "The next time they revisit public school finance, it will come back...whenever that is." If there's a bright side to the fight, it's that non-disclosure got further this time than ever before, he adds.
Nolan believes behind-the-scenes lobbying from influential commercial owners scuttled the proposal. The Apartment Association was the largest commercial body to speak out.
The Texas house passed its public school finance bill in mid-March, setting up a battle in the Senate that ended without a vote. For previous story, click here.
Texas is one of 11 states that allow sale prices to be kept under wraps. The other non-disclosure states are Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah.
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