What are Golden Pennies?

Golden pennies provide tax revenue that is not subject to recapture by the State of Texas. Using golden pennies is an exercise of LOCAL control. Voters decide to access the pennies; all the revenue generated by them stays in the school district.

Up until the passage of HB3, Highland Park ISD was unable to access additional golden pennies from the state. That meant that, if the district sought voter approval to raise additional revenue, 66% of it would have been returned to the state. HB3 provides local control to school districts like HPISD.