The Tap: Saturday, October 8, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #38 of The Tap, which was published on October 15, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

  • Following the release of a 2005 tape of Donald Trump making lewd comments about women, a string of high-profile Republicans denounced his campaign, with some calling for him to drop out of the race and others saying they won’t vote for him. By Ballotpedia’s count, 46 Republicans have said Trump should drop out and/or that they won’t vote for him. This number includes 21 members of the House, 12 senators, and seven governors. That number was originally higher, but four Republican lawmakers—Deb Fischer, Scott Garrett, Bradley Byrne, and John Thune—later reversed their stances and voiced support for Trump.
    • House Speaker Paul Ryan, who cancelled a campaign event with Trump scheduled for Saturday, did not withdraw his support from Trump but said he was “sickened” by Trump’s comments in the tape. “I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified. I hope Mr. Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than this clip suggests,” said Ryan. On Monday, Ryan reportedly told House Republicans that he intends to spend the rest of the general election season focused on maintaining Republicans’ majorities in Congress and would no longer campaign for Trump. “The speaker is going to spend the next month focused entirely on protecting our congressional majorities,” a spokesperson for Ryan said. Trump reacted to the news on Twitter, saying, “Paul Ryan should spend more time on balancing the budget, jobs and illegal immigration and not waste his time on fighting Republican nominee.”
    • See also: Republican reactions to 2005 Trump tape and What options does the GOP have if Trump drops out?

Local

  • The Midland Independent School District (MISD) in Texas held a special tax ratification election, where voters defeated a proposed tax increase with 63 percent of the vote. The MISD board of trustees unanimously adopted an increased tax rate for the 2016-2017 school year in August 2016. Under Texas state law, the board needed to get voter approval to pass a property tax rate above $1.04 per $100 of property valuation. The board proposed a rate of $1.09 per $100 of property valuation, which would increase the property taxes on a home valued at $200,000 by $60 per year. As a result, the board ordered the special election. In the spring of 2016, the MISD learned it would be required to pay $51 million to the state under the Texas Robin Hood law, which is a $4 million increase over the previous year's payment. The Robin Hood law obligates property-rich districts like Midland to send money to the state for redistribution to poorer districts. The payment increase came after a fall in commodity prices led to an unexpected revenue decline in the Midland area, which is dominated by the oil and natural gas industries. Consequently, the MISD estimated a $25 million deficit for the 2016-2017 school year. The Midland Independent School District is the 53rd-largest school district in the state. It served 23,560 students during the 2013-2014 school year—roughly 0.5 percent of all Texas public school students.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #37 of The Tap, which was published on October 8, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.


Local

  • The Midland Independent School District (MISD) in Texas will hold a special tax ratification election. The MISD board of trustees unanimously adopted an increased tax rate for the 2016-2017 school year in August 2016. Under Texas state law, the board must get voter approval to pass a property tax rate above $1.04 per $100 of property valuation. The board proposed a rate of $1.09 per $100 of property valuation, which would increase the property taxes on a home valued at $200,000 by $60 per year. As a result, the board ordered the special election. In the spring of 2016, the MISD learned it would be required to pay $51 million to the state under the Texas Robin Hood law, which is a $4 million increase over the previous year's payment. The Robin Hood law obligates property-rich districts like Midland to send money to the state for redistribution to poorer districts. The payment increase came after a fall in commodity prices led to an unexpected revenue decline in the Midland area, which is dominated by the oil and natural gas industries. Consequently, the MISD estimated a $25 million deficit for the 2016-2017 school year. The Midland Independent School District is the 53rd-largest school district in the state. It served 23,560 student during the 2013-2014 school year—roughly 0.5 percent of all Texas public school students.