AUSTIN, TX – Earlier today, the San Antonio Planning Commission formally approved a proposal to conduct limited purpose annexation of some 13,000 Bexar County residents without their consent. This is a major step in the City’s overarching annexation plans, which will ultimately force as many as 200,000 Texans to become city taxpayers by the end of 2016. The proposal will now be considered by the San Antonio City Council.
“Allowing cities to annex property owners into their big city governments without prior consent is an indefensible policy that runs contrary to conservative principles,” said Allegra Hill, policy analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “While city planners no doubt see annexation as a tool to boost city revenues, their short-sighted desire to grow government should not trump private property rights. San Antonio’s plan to annex as many as 200,000 Bexar County residents against their will is yet another example of the need for large-scale reform in the next legislative session.”
To read more about the problems with municipal annexation policies, please see the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s August 2015 report: Ending Forced Annexation in Texas.
For more information or to request an interview with Ms. Hill, please contact Caroline Espinosa at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
Allegra Hill is a policy analyst with the Center for Local Governance at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.