State Lawmakers Join Senate Hopeful in Call for Revised Property Appraisals

September 29, 2008

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

A Texas Senate contender and two state lawmakers teamed up Monday when they proposed that property be reappraised in the coastal area that was battered early this month Hurricane Ike.

Republican Austen Furse - a candidate in the special election for Senate District 17 - brought up the idea first when he called on local officials to take advantage of a state law that allows taxing jurisdictions to adjust residential and commercial property values to reflect the damages inflicted by a disaster like the storm that slammed into the Galveston and Houston areas two weeks ago.

State Senator Mike Jackson of La Porte and State Rep. John Zerwas of Houston rallied behind the proposal as a way to help residents and business owners whose property suffered significant damaged when Ike roared through the area.

Furse is competing for the Senate seat that Republican Kyle Janek gave up early when he resigned from the upper chamber in June. The battle for SD 17 includes Democrat Chris Bell and Republican Joan Huffman, a former state district judge. Republicans Grant Harpold and Ken Sherman and Democrat Stephanie Simmons are also vying for the open Senate seat in a special election that will be held in conjunction with the general election on November 4.

Zerwas supports Furse in the special Senate battle while Jackson has stayed out of that particular race at a time when he's locked in fight of his own with Democrat Joe Jaworski of Galveston in his bid for re-election this year. But Jackson liked the idea about property reappraisals when Furse discussed the proposal with him and decided to get on board even though he hasn't endorsed anyone in the SD 17 race and doesn't plan to do so. Several Houston-area House members are backing Huffman in her campaign for the Senate this fall.

Jackson and Zerwas are Republicans like Furse, who worked as a policy director in the first Bush White House. Furse, Zerwas and Jackson have another common thread as clients for Houston consultant Allen Blakemore, who's been Janek's chief adviser as well. Zerwas faces Democrat Dorothy Bottos in his bid for second term in the lower chamber.

Furse described the proposal as an issue of fairness for coastal residents whose property is no longer as valuable as it was before Ike struck. "There are thousands of people who suffered significant damage or lost their entire homes," Furse said. "It is only fair that they should have their properties reappraised so that we don't ask people to pay taxes on a home that was washed away by Hurricane Ike."

Asked about possible opposition from local officials who'd be worried about losing tax revenue that's needed for the recovery effort, Furse suggested that such a concern would be mitigated by FEMA's pledge to reimburse local governments for money spent on projects that are designed to protect the area against future disasters like Ike.

According to Furse, state law gives cities, counties, school districts and other taxing authorities the ability to approve property reappraisals like those he's proposing. The value of homes and businesses that have been damaged or destroyed would be reassessed if the owners requested it.

SD 17 contains several counties that were hit hard by the hurricane including a section of Galveston that sustained severe damage when the storm crashed into the island. Jackson represents part of Galveston as well.