Dallas among AG Ken Paxton’s major statewide financial transparency investigations

The initiative centers on Senate Bill 1851, which took effect this year.

By María Ramos Pacheco
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/

Dallas is one of nearly 1,000 cities Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday he is investigating.

Paxton has launched a statewide investigation to ensure compliance with a new state law governing municipal financial transparency and tax increases.

The initiative centers on Senate Bill 1851, which took effect this year. The law prohibits cities from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate, the rate that would bring in the same amount of revenue as the previous year, if the attorney general determines that a city has not complied with the state-required financial audit and transparency standards.

Those requirements include auditing the city’s records and accounts, having the city’s annual financial statement prepared based on the audit or filing the financial statement and the auditor’s opinion on the statement in the office of the city secretary or clerk before the 180th day after the last day of the city’s fiscal year.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, the review was prompted by earlier investigations into La Marque, Odessa, Tom Bean and Whitesboro. In those cases, Paxton sent letters instructing officials to halt what he described as unlawful tax increases.

Paxton’s office said those inquiries revealed that many cities statewide are not consistently complying with long-standing financial reporting requirements.

“Our cities and municipalities must prioritize transparency and minimizing the tax burden of every citizen across the state,” Paxton said in a news release. “While many cities have already complied with these requirements, I’m launching this review to ensure that the law is universally followed, taxpayers are respected, and local government is accountable to all Texans.”

As part of the new initiative, Paxton is requesting financial documents and audit information from cities across Texas, including major urban centers such as Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, El Paso and Dallas. Cities that receive an information-request email are being instructed to respond promptly or risk legal consequences.

There are 1,225 cities in Texas, according to a 2022 U.S. Census Bureau report.

For Dallas, the investigation means the city could be asked to provide documentation showing it meets state audit transparency rules. Dallas publishes its annual comprehensive financial report on its website.

Rick Ericson, the city’s chief communications officer, said via email, “the city is creating a webpage for SB1851 so that everyone can see our response.”

BREAKING: I launched a statewide investigation of nearly 1,000 Texas cities to ensure municipal transparency and stop illegal tax increases.

Local officials will not be allowed to ignore the law, cover up their finances, and burden Texans with never-ending tax increases. pic.twitter.com/3dckjzvhPU— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) December 9, 2025

Paxton said the goal is statewide consistency in following SB 1851 and preventing what he described as “never-ending tax increases.”

María Ramos Pacheco is a reporter on the local government team. Before joining The News, María was a reporter at El Paso Matters and attended the University of Texas at El Paso. She is from Chihuahua, Mx, where her love for journalism was formed.

This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.