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Debbie Riddle goes on the record
By KEVIN KOLOIAN
When the Texas State Legislature opens session in January 2009, Debbie Riddle, District 150 state representative, has her work cut out for her as she battles everything from business taxes to illegal immigrants receiving in-state tuition.
She was eager to introduce the bills that will affect her district and the state when she spoke to The Observer after winning her fourth straight election.
MARGINS TAX
Riddle feels the margins tax, which replaced the franchise tax and is based on a percentage of a businesses taxable margin, is hurting small businesses.
“The margins tax, or new business tax, in Texas is grossly unfair to our businesses, especially the small businesses that create new jobs in our community,” Riddle said. “It’s not based on a net. It’s not based on a gross. It is based on a margin.”
Every business owner knows their gross and every business owner knows their net, but a margin is a moving target, she said. A business owner could experience a loss and still owe a tax.
“The margins tax was rapidly put together and whenever something is done quickly and hurriedly, kind of like the nation’s bailout, that is when bad legislation occurs,” Riddle said.
APPRAISAL CAPS
Appraisal creep needs to be slowed down or eliminated, she also said, so the taxable value of a person’s home does not rise at a faster rate than people can keep up with.
“We need to cap the appraisal rates so it doesn’t go so high so quickly,” Riddle said. “It will slow it down, but it doesn’t make it go away.”
She thinks if a homeowner’s taxable value can be kept from increasing 3 to 5 percent, it will make the situation somewhat manageable.
“I don’t think a silver bullet is going to solve all of the issues regarding property taxes for a homeowner, but right now, basically, one can never truly own their home,” she said. “You can go buy a house and have it paid for lock, stock and barrel, but you never really fully own it because you will continually owe the state of Texas.
“If you are a retired individual and decided to take part of your retirement to pay off your house, and the taxes continue to go up and up and up on that house, at some point you would no longer be able to afford your home and essentially be taxed out of your house and that is exactly what’s happening,” Riddle continued. “It is for this reason that I am studying all other options for school finance to lighten or eliminate the burden on the few property owners that are carrying the whole load.”
REVITALIZATION OF FM 1960
Riddle wants to revitalize the FM 1960 area from Interstate 45 to Highway 249 by tackling urban blight on all fronts.
“We have crime. We have gang graffiti and gang problems. We have massage parlors that are essentially brothels,” Riddle said.
She said there are no easy solutions for any of these issues, but she feels the proposed management district being talked about by Renaissance 1960 and the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce cannot fix all of the problems by itself, though the idea has some merit.
People have misconceptions about how much the management district can do to turn things around, she said.
“People think the management district is the equivalent of a homeowners association and that couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Riddle said. “A homeowners association can force you to mow your yard, or they can mow your yard and charge you. They can make you fix or repair your house or, through an architectural committee, tell you what type of roofing you can do.”
A management district has no authority past the right of way, which is the 6- to 8-foot area from the curb to the power pole.
A management district does not have authority over to whom a building owner leases their space or the private property, buildings, parking lots and signs that do not fall in the right of way.
Besides beautifying the area from right of way to right of way, the only other thing a management district can do is hire law enforcement for additional security, something that is appealing to Riddle.
“I think that is a major consideration. But one also needs to be careful because it doesn’t get rid of crime; it only moves crime. Criminals don’t just go away. We don’t want to move the crime deeper in the subdivisions,” she said.
Riddle also wants to make clear the process of setting up a management district.
Because it will be a new taxing authority on commercial property owners, a management district has to be established legislatively and it would require a bill creating it. The bill would need to be passed by both the House and the Senate.
“Our state senator has been deeply involved in these discussions,” Riddle said. “This cannot be done by one state rep or even one state senator. It is going to take our local state representatives and our state senator working together as we are already doing to determine the solutions.”
All of the issues affecting the area need to be dealt with properly and be well coordinated, she said, both with the subdivisions and the businesses along 1960.
GRAND PARKWAY
Ever since she first ran for office, Riddle has been extremely vocal about the building of the Grand Parkway at the district level and in the state capitol.
“My constituents and I are not opposed to the concept of the Grand Parkway,” Riddle said. “We are opposed to the proposed location of it.”
It will go through subdivisions, destroy people’s homes, lower property value and disrupt the quiet area in which residents live, she said.
“I have said that the day that a bulldozer shows up in the Mossy Oaks subdivision we are going to have another Tiananmen Square because I will be standing in front of it.”
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IN-STATE TUITION
In the last Texas legislative session Riddle introduced a bill that would repeal the law that gives illegal immigrants in-state tuition.
The bill was not voted out of committee last session and subsequently died. She filed it again Monday morning to be voted on again next session.
“It is grossly unfair to give in-state tuition to someone who is here illegally and cause a tuition increase for others. It is also grossly unfair to take money out of the pockets of taxpayers to augment the cost of having illegal immigrants at our state universities,” Riddle said.
“We are not saying that illegal immigrants cannot go to these schools, but we are saying that they should not be subsidized by taxpayers to do so.”
She was eager to introduce the bills that will affect her district and the state when she spoke to The Observer after winning her fourth straight election.
MARGINS TAX
Riddle feels the margins tax, which replaced the franchise tax and is based on a percentage of a businesses taxable margin, is hurting small businesses.
“The margins tax, or new business tax, in Texas is grossly unfair to our businesses, especially the small businesses that create new jobs in our community,” Riddle said. “It’s not based on a net. It’s not based on a gross. It is based on a margin.”
Every business owner knows their gross and every business owner knows their net, but a margin is a moving target, she said. A business owner could experience a loss and still owe a tax.
“The margins tax was rapidly put together and whenever something is done quickly and hurriedly, kind of like the nation’s bailout, that is when bad legislation occurs,” Riddle said.
APPRAISAL CAPS
Appraisal creep needs to be slowed down or eliminated, she also said, so the taxable value of a person’s home does not rise at a faster rate than people can keep up with.
“We need to cap the appraisal rates so it doesn’t go so high so quickly,” Riddle said. “It will slow it down, but it doesn’t make it go away.”
She thinks if a homeowner’s taxable value can be kept from increasing 3 to 5 percent, it will make the situation somewhat manageable.
“I don’t think a silver bullet is going to solve all of the issues regarding property taxes for a homeowner, but right now, basically, one can never truly own their home,” she said. “You can go buy a house and have it paid for lock, stock and barrel, but you never really fully own it because you will continually owe the state of Texas.
“If you are a retired individual and decided to take part of your retirement to pay off your house, and the taxes continue to go up and up and up on that house, at some point you would no longer be able to afford your home and essentially be taxed out of your house and that is exactly what’s happening,” Riddle continued. “It is for this reason that I am studying all other options for school finance to lighten or eliminate the burden on the few property owners that are carrying the whole load.”
REVITALIZATION OF FM 1960
Riddle wants to revitalize the FM 1960 area from Interstate 45 to Highway 249 by tackling urban blight on all fronts.
“We have crime. We have gang graffiti and gang problems. We have massage parlors that are essentially brothels,” Riddle said.
She said there are no easy solutions for any of these issues, but she feels the proposed management district being talked about by Renaissance 1960 and the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce cannot fix all of the problems by itself, though the idea has some merit.
People have misconceptions about how much the management district can do to turn things around, she said.
“People think the management district is the equivalent of a homeowners association and that couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Riddle said. “A homeowners association can force you to mow your yard, or they can mow your yard and charge you. They can make you fix or repair your house or, through an architectural committee, tell you what type of roofing you can do.”
A management district has no authority past the right of way, which is the 6- to 8-foot area from the curb to the power pole.
A management district does not have authority over to whom a building owner leases their space or the private property, buildings, parking lots and signs that do not fall in the right of way.
Besides beautifying the area from right of way to right of way, the only other thing a management district can do is hire law enforcement for additional security, something that is appealing to Riddle.
“I think that is a major consideration. But one also needs to be careful because it doesn’t get rid of crime; it only moves crime. Criminals don’t just go away. We don’t want to move the crime deeper in the subdivisions,” she said.
Riddle also wants to make clear the process of setting up a management district.
Because it will be a new taxing authority on commercial property owners, a management district has to be established legislatively and it would require a bill creating it. The bill would need to be passed by both the House and the Senate.
“Our state senator has been deeply involved in these discussions,” Riddle said. “This cannot be done by one state rep or even one state senator. It is going to take our local state representatives and our state senator working together as we are already doing to determine the solutions.”
All of the issues affecting the area need to be dealt with properly and be well coordinated, she said, both with the subdivisions and the businesses along 1960.
GRAND PARKWAY
Ever since she first ran for office, Riddle has been extremely vocal about the building of the Grand Parkway at the district level and in the state capitol.
“My constituents and I are not opposed to the concept of the Grand Parkway,” Riddle said. “We are opposed to the proposed location of it.”
It will go through subdivisions, destroy people’s homes, lower property value and disrupt the quiet area in which residents live, she said.
“I have said that the day that a bulldozer shows up in the Mossy Oaks subdivision we are going to have another Tiananmen Square because I will be standing in front of it.”
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IN-STATE TUITION
In the last Texas legislative session Riddle introduced a bill that would repeal the law that gives illegal immigrants in-state tuition.
The bill was not voted out of committee last session and subsequently died. She filed it again Monday morning to be voted on again next session.
“It is grossly unfair to give in-state tuition to someone who is here illegally and cause a tuition increase for others. It is also grossly unfair to take money out of the pockets of taxpayers to augment the cost of having illegal immigrants at our state universities,” Riddle said.
“We are not saying that illegal immigrants cannot go to these schools, but we are saying that they should not be subsidized by taxpayers to do so.”
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