When Harris County commissioners meet Dec. 11, they’ll review several agenda items on the docket, including updates on the county jail and discussions on renewing full property tax exemptions for child care providers and tackling countywide food insecurity.
What you need to know
Items for discussion at the upcoming December court meeting include the reauthorization of full property tax exemptions for eligible child care providers in the county. The unanimous request was set forth by the Harris County judge and all four precinct commissioners, and looks to set the tax exemption for 2026 and continue in the years after, according to the agenda.
In 2024, an estimated 327 Harris County child care providers qualified for a 100% property tax exemption after Harris County commissioners authorized the exemptions at a March 26, 2024, court meeting.
Just six days prior to the county approval, members of the Houston City Council also passed a tax exemption amendment, which paved the way for child care facilities in both the city of Houston and Harris County to immediately apply for the exemption.
Also on the agenda
Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones is requesting that Harris County Public Health develop a countywide strategy to address food insecurity, according to her agenda item pending approval. The overall food insecurity rate for Harris County is 18.2% as of 2023, according to Feeding America’s 2025 “Map the Meal Gap” report published May 14. That percentage equates to 863,820 people in the county.
As previously reported in Community Impact, that percentile has risen since 2019, when it was 13.9%—or 644,710 people—according to the 2023 report.
Also of note
Multiple agenda items are related to the Harris County Flood Control District, including the hiring of more than 60 staff for ongoing flood maintenance projects.
At least $410 million worth of flood projects throughout the county are going to be bid in the next 12 months, equaling more than 30 project packages, according to the Harris County Flood Control District’s construction bid calendar.
One of Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s agenda items looks to take possible action on the bid calendar. No further details were provided.
What else?
At the Dec. 11 court meeting, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth will also officially sign off with the governor’s office to conduct the special runoff election for Texas’ 18th Congressional District.
The special runoff election will be held Jan. 31, Gov. Greg Abbott announced via a Nov. 17 proclamation.
As previously reported by Community Impact, 16 candidates ran in the Nov. 4 special-called election for District 18, including five Republicans, seven Democrats, three independent candidates and one Green Party candidate. The top two vote-getters—Democratic candidates Christian Dashaun Menefee and Amanda Edwards—received 28.9%, or 22,022 votes, and 25.55%, or 19,467 votes, respectively, per results posted on the Harris County Clerk's Office website.
What residents should know
Harris County Commissioners Court meetings are held at 9 a.m. in Downtown Houston. The administration building is located at 1001 Preston St., Houston. Meetings are also available to livestream here.
Hannah Brol contributed to this report.
