CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Four more Coastal Bend cities are now prohibited from raising property taxes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a second round of enforcement letters to more than 110 cities statewide.
Aransas Pass, Mathis, Odem and Woodsboro are on the latest list, released Aug. 17. All four failed to meet state financial audit and transparency requirements under SB 1851, a law enacted during the 2025 legislative session that bars non-compliant cities from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate.
This brings the total number of local cities affected to nine. In May, Paxton's office notified more than 130 cities in its first round of enforcement, which included Bishop, Gregory, Ingleside on the Bay, Taft and Three Rivers.
Combined, more than 240 cities across Texas are now prohibited from raising taxes.
The enforcement stems from an investigation launched in April, when Paxton's office demanded documents from more than 1,000 municipalities to determine compliance with SB 1851.
"My office has been investigating cities across Texas," Paxton said in a statement. "Now, over 110 new cities have been notified that they must not raise property taxes in violation of state law."
The attorney general's office said the investigation remains ongoing, and additional cities could be added to the list.
Cities on the non-compliant list may not adopt property tax increases above the no-new-revenue rate until they come into compliance with state audit requirements.
The no-new-revenue rate is the tax rate that would generate the same amount of property tax revenue as the prior year. Any increase above that rate requires cities to meet the transparency and audit standards set by state law.
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