Shannon Halbrook is the director of our Invest in Texas team, overseeing our fiscal policy research and advocacy. He joined Every Texan in March 2023. Previously, he worked for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Department of Information Resources as a policy researcher and data analyst, where he gained unique insight into how we can more effectively advocate for state budget and tax policy that invests in the future of every Texan. A Texas native, Shannon lived in Boston for a number of years, where he worked for the National Consumer Law Center. He holds a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin.
Policy areas: State Budget, Workforce Development
Millions of homeowners and renters in Texas share major housing affordability concerns, with 84% of Texans saying they are either very concerned or somewhat concerned about the cost of housing.*
The 2026-27 state budget provides for $150 billion in general revenue spending, including $51 billion in property tax cuts. Those large, permanent tax cuts are only made possible by historically
Millions of homeowners and renters in Texas share major housing affordability concerns, with 84% of Texans saying they are either very concerned or somewhat concerned about the cost of housing*.
Texas is home to the second-highest number of data centers in the United States, with 335 data centers currently operating and 248 more in development, according to recent Texas Tribune
Read this testimony as a PDF. For more than 40 years, Every Texan has advocated for public policy to expand equity and opportunity for all Texans. We offer trusted research
In 2024, Every Texan published the State of Working Texans, a four-part series offering an overview of the labor market with a focus on working Texans, low-income families, and people
Texas property owners pay the seventh-highest property taxes in the country. Largely because the state does not have an income tax, property taxes are essential for the services provided by our
SB 1, the state budget for the 2026-27 biennium, took effect on Sept. 1, 2025. It represents $338 billion in all funds and $149 billion in general revenue spending (the
The income groups paying the highest tax rates in Texas are disproportionately Hispanic and Black, whereas the lowest-taxed group (the wealthiest 5%) is predominantly white. Sustainable tax revenue provides the
For the first time since 2019, the federal government has shut down. This on the heels of the July 4 passage of H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”,
