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Texas taxpayers are finally gaining access to a tool that reshapes how local government debt and tax decisions can be evaluated. Following the passage of House Bill 103 (HB 103) during the 89th Texas Legislative Session (2025), the Texas Comptroller has launched the Local Government Bond, Tax, and Project Transparency Database. This new statewide database consolidates information on local bond elections, tax rate elections, and bond-funded projects into a single public platform.
For decades, Texans have been asked to approve long-term debt obligations with limited ability to easily verify existing debt levels, projected tax impacts, or whether prior bond promises were fulfilled. Local governments often presented bond measures in isolation, leaving voters without meaningful context. The creation of this database directly addresses that problem by making local fiscal information centralized, searchable, and publicly accessible.
Statewide Framework for Bond and Tax Transparency in Texas
House Bill 103, authored by State Rep. Ellen Troxclair (R-Lakeway), amended Chapter 403 of the Texas Government Code by creating a new subchapter dedicated specifically to local government bond, tax, and project transparency. The law directs the Comptroller of Public Accounts, in coordination with the Bond Review Board, to develop and maintain a database containing both current and historical information on taxes imposed and bonds issued by local taxing units across Texas.
The statute establishes clear expectations for accessibility and accountability. The database must be available to the public at no cost, prominently linked through the Texas.gov Property Taxes portal, and designed to allow users to review, analyze, and compare data across jurisdictions. This structure ensures that transparency is not discretionary or selective, but uniform and statewide.
What Information Does the Database Provide to Texas Taxpayers?
The Local Government Bond, Tax, and Project Transparency Database is designed to give taxpayers a comprehensive picture of how public debt and tax rates are proposed, approved, and implemented. It includes the full ballot language for bond propositions, allowing voters to see exactly how measures were presented during elections. The database also captures projected tax rates for debt service and estimated minimum annual debt service requirements that result from bond issuance, providing insight into long-term tax obligations.
Election results for bond approvals are included alongside lists of funded projects and accounting records showing how bond proceeds were actually spent. This allows taxpayers to evaluate whether projects are aligned with voter authorization. The database further documents tax rate changes attributable to issued bonds, election outcomes for voter-approval tax rate elections, and proposed or adopted maintenance tax rates for school districts. For school district maintenance taxes, the database includes ballot language to ensure transparency in how operational tax increases were framed for voters.
Historical Bond and Tax Data Strengthens Voter Oversight
House Bill 103 does not limit transparency to future elections. It requires taxing units to submit historical bond and tax data covering tax years from 2015 through 2025. This backfill requirement allows taxpayers to identify trends in borrowing, tax increases, and election frequency rather than viewing each proposal in isolation.
By capturing both approved and failed bond elections, the database provides a fuller picture of voter sentiment and local government behavior over time. This historical context is essential for informed decision-making, particularly as local governments continue to rely heavily on debt financing.
Comptroller Plan Makes Bond and Tax Transparency Operational
The Texas Comptroller’s implementation plan confirms that the database is not merely theoretical. It establishes a phased rollout designed to capture historical data first and then transition to ongoing annual reporting. Beginning in 2026, local governments must report bond and tax election results on an annual basis, generally by August 7 following the applicable election cycle.
A dedicated online reporting portal standardizes submissions and requires authorized certification by local officials. This structure improves data accuracy while reinforcing accountability for compliance. Civil penalties apply only to governmental entities that fail to report after notice and an opportunity to cure, ensuring enforcement without burdening taxpayers.
The rollout of the database was also publicly underscored by the acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock (R), who emphasized its importance for taxpayers across the state. Announcing the launch, Hancock described the database as a major step forward for transparency, noting that Texans can now see how much debt their local governments carry, which bonds voters approved, and how those dollars are being used.
Recent Texas Bond Elections Highlight Need for Transparency
The launch of the transparency database follows years of escalating local government debt across Texas. In the November 2025 election cycle alone, Texas voters were asked to consider more than $32 billion in local bond proposals, with more than 470 measures appearing on ballots statewide. Even where individual bonds appear reasonable, their cumulative effect represents a massive expansion of long-term taxpayer obligations.
Recent election outcomes underscore the importance of transparency. In the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, voters approved three of four bond propositions totaling more than $1.9 billion, while rejecting a stadium upgrade. This outcome suggests voters are increasingly willing to distinguish between core needs and discretionary spending when given the opportunity.
In the Seven Springs Municipal Utility District, a $1.3 billion bond proposal passed with only one vote cast, a common occurrence in newly created districts. While legally permissible, such approvals bind future homeowners to decades of debt before they ever have a voice. Transparency tools that capture these elections allow policymakers and taxpayers to evaluate whether financial risk is being shifted away from developers and onto future residents.
In the City of Prosper, voters rejected four of six bond propositions, approving debt only for streets and downtown improvements. By doing so, residents limited borrowing to core governmental functions. In Parker County, voters decisively rejected a $286 million justice bond package, signaling resistance to large new debt obligations even for traditional government services.
Across the state, voters rejected bonds for non-core spending, public subsidies for professional sports facilities, and other discretionary projects. These results reflect a growing skepticism toward unchecked borrowing and reinforce the need for tools that allow voters to evaluate proposals with full context.
School Bond Transparency Signals Broader Fiscal Shift
House Bill 103 is part of a broader legislative effort to improve transparency around local debt. During the same session, lawmakers advanced Senate Bill 843 (SB 843), authored by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), which establishes a centralized database for school district and charter school bond measures and maintenance tax elections.
School bonds are among the largest drivers of local debt in Texas. Yet historically, parents and taxpayers struggled to track how school bonds were proposed, approved, and spent. Senate Bill 843 addresses this gap by requiring standardized disclosure of school bond elections, tax rates, and capital improvement projects.
Together, HB 103 and SB 843 reflect a clear legislative intent. When governments ask voters to approve debt repaid through property taxes, transparency should be the rule, not the exception. These reforms rely on disclosure and public oversight rather than centralized control, preserving local decision-making while strengthening accountability.
Why Bond and Tax Transparency Matters
Local government bonds are ultimately repaid by property owners. Once approved, they can lock in higher tax rates for decades and reduce fiscal flexibility for future policymakers. Transparency strengthens individual liberty by allowing taxpayers to understand and challenge long-term financial commitments before they are made.
House Bill 103 advances limited government not by restricting local authority, but by disciplining it through sunlight. When borrowing decisions and tax increases are easily visible, local officials face stronger incentives to justify proposals and prioritize essential services over expansion.
Bond and Tax Transparency Database Is a Win for Taxpayers
The launch of the Local Government Bond, Tax, and Project Transparency Database represents a structural improvement in how Texans engage with local fiscal policy. By pairing clear statutory mandates with a detailed implementation plan, HB 103 moves transparency from theory to practice.
For taxpayers, the database provides clarity, context, and accountability in an area of government that directly affects household finances. For voters, it restores balance by ensuring decisions about long-term debt and taxes are made with access to the facts. House Bill 103 affirms a simple principle. Texans deserve to know how much debt is being issued in their name, what it will cost, and whether it serves a legitimate public purpose.
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