Solar in northern Idaho?

[5:25 p.m.] Texas’ disaster declaration does not allow cities and counties to raise their tax rates beyond the state’s 3.5% cap without voter approval, Gov. Greg Abbott said in a Friday interview with KVUE, weighing into a political debate brewing between local and state officials.

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The Texas Municipal League, which represents city governments, argues that Abbott’s disaster declaration due to coronavirus triggers that section of the property tax law. Cities can increase taxes by 8% and most will not need to hold an election to significantly raise taxes next year, if they are raising money to respond to the disaster, according to TML.

Rents for one-bedroom apartments in San Francisco have dropped by 9.2% since June 2019, according to Zumper. That's the biggest decline since the rental site started recording such data in 2015, and brings median one-bedroom prices down to levels not seen since March 2017.

With the economy faltering and unemployment numbers skyrocketing, Zumper's Crystal Chen said she expected to see a dip, but as a long-time SF resident, she said the nearly double-digit year-over-year decline was "still shocking." Plus, prices are unlikely to plateau anytime soon.

Median one-bedroom prices in San Francisco dropped almost 3% just in the last month alone.

She attributes the decrease in demand — also seen in other expensive cities such as New York, Boston and San Jose, though to a lesser degree — to a new prioritization for renters that puts cost and space over location. This is especially true in tech-heavy locations like San Francisco, where workers may be able to work from home indefinitely. "As more and more companies move into remote work, many renters don’t want to pay the big-city price tag when they are unable to use the amenities and are looking for more affordable options outside of large, metropolitan areas," she said. "If everyone is stuck at home, people are prioritizing having more space and comfort over city life."