Rep. Vince Perez files bills to make second DWI a felony, change school funding

Rep. Vince Perez files bills to make second DWI a felony, change school funding by Erika Esquivel Tue, November 10, 2026 at 11:12 AM 4 VIEW ALL PHOTOS Vincent Perez (credit: Vince Perez campaign) Comment on this story 1 Comment Share story Share topics: Vince Perez Data centers Tax incentives School funding Civil detention DWI felony El Paso Texas Legislature EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — State Rep. Vince Perez, D-El Paso, filed 15 bills Monday that would change how Texas and local governments offer incentives to data centers, regulate civil detention facilities and fund schools and community colleges. The proposals include a bill requiring new public votes before additional phases of large local tax incentive agreements, and another that would repeal Texas’ sales tax exemption for data centers. The bills were filed on the first day of pre-filing for the 90th Legislature, which convenes Jan. 12. One proposal, House Bill 729, would cap local property tax incentives at 10 years and require a city council or commissioners court to approve each new phase in a public vote after construction begins. It would not cancel work already underway, according to Perez’s office. The bill comes as El Paso’s 2023 agreements with Meta provide an 80% reduction in city and county property taxes for up to five phases of a data center in Northeast El Paso. The agreements run through 2058 and could provide up to $550 million in incentives, according to the City of El Paso’s estimate cited in the release. House Bill 851 would repeal the state sales tax exemption for data centers’ servers and electricity. Perez’s office cited the Texas comptroller’s estimate that the exemption cost $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2026. Other data center proposals would bar certain local and state incentives, require local governments to publicly file agreements with the state and prevent regulators from shifting the cost of a proposed El Paso Electric gas plant onto other customers unless regulators find it benefits them and residential bills will not increase. Perez also filed bills addressing education funding. One would change how the state distributes funding reductions to community colleges when it does not appropriate enough to cover the amount colleges earned. Another would require school districts to spend at least 80% of campus-level low-income student funding at the campus that generated it. A third would cap what families pay for school activities at $500, with additional state funding for districts. RECOMMENDED: State rep. Vince Perez questions TX review of EPISD, citing requests for student records The package includes a proposal to limit corporate ownership of single-family rental homes in Texas to 10 properties, with exceptions for qualifying affordable housing nonprofits. It would also require companies with five or more rental homes to register and identify their owners in a public database. Three bills concern civil detention facilities, including immigration detention centers. They would set minimum health and safety standards, allow local governments to request state inspections, create a right to sue operators over certain deaths or serious injuries, and bar public entities from entering into or renewing agreements to hold civil immigration detainees. Among the other proposals, House Bill 746 would make a second driving while intoxicated conviction a state jail felony. House Bill 744 would set licensing requirements for doctors trained abroad, while House Bill 745 would name a stretch of Loop 375 for El Paso educator Rosa Guerrero. Perez said the bills respond to concerns about corporate tax incentives and public accountability. The proposals would need to pass the Legislature and receive the governor’s signature to become law. Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox. Trending Two women sought in Lower Valley apartment assault Authorities in El Paso are looking for two women suspected of assaulting a woman in connection with an assault at an apartment complex in the Lower Valley. UIL Football Playoff brackets released UIL Football Playoff brackets released El Paso High student, family held in ICE custody at Dilley pending immigration hearing An El Paso High School student and her family are in ICE custody after an Oct. 22 arrest tied to alleged illegal entry in 2022. Rep. 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