🔴Relating to the qualification of candidates for, and the training and education of members of, the board of directors of an appraisal district.

HB 148

🔴 HB 148: A Training Bill That Quietly Becomes a Gatekeeper

At first glance, HB 148 looks like a common-sense bill about ethics and professionalism for local appraisal board members. These are the folks who help determine your property taxes.

But once you look deeper, the structure of this bill tells a very different story.

Here’s what actually changes:

• If you live in a county with more than 75,000 people, you can't run for a seat or even be appointed unless you first sign a formal acknowledgment of your duties and submit it to a local official.

• Every board member in these counties must complete mandatory training every single year. But it has to come from approved college-based providers. There is no public online option. There is no affordable alternative.

• If you miss the training deadline, you're automatically labeled "incompetent" under Texas law. That label can be used to remove you from office without a hearing and with no right to appeal.

This isn’t just about training. This is about setting up a system that decides who gets to serve and who doesn’t.

So who benefits?

• Accredited colleges that now get to charge for exclusive access to training
• Chief appraisers who gain the power to block candidates before voters ever see their names
• The Texas Comptroller who receives new oversight data without having to provide training
• And lobbying groups like the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts, Texas Realtors, and TTARA who supported the bill and now have more control over the boards that shape property tax decisions

And who gets shut out?

• Everyday Texans who don’t have time or money to jump through these training requirements
• Community members who miss a deadline and are disqualified without recourse
• Voters who are left with fewer candidates and less control

The long-term impact is even bigger. HB 148 creates a model that could be used in other places. Imagine similar credential barriers showing up in school boards, zoning commissions, or water districts. All of a sudden, serving your community isn’t about being elected. It’s about passing through the right institutional gates.

This bill did not come with any funding. It did not include new transparency. And it did not offer flexibility for local communities.

What it did do is create permanent obligations, narrow the path to public service, and shift quiet power into the hands of institutions with no public accountability.

Bottom line: HB 148 allows unelected officials and private institutions to decide who is “qualified” to serve and who gets removed. That’s a serious shift away from public control and toward administrative gatekeeping.

🔴#HB148 #GatekeepingByDesign #LocalControlUnderThreat #TexasPolicy