Three cities in the Rio Grande Valley are being blocked from raising property taxes this year for failing to “be transparent with taxpayers,” according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Roma, San Perlita and Weslaco are among the over 130 Texas cities that can’t raise their property taxes because they’re not complying with a new state law, according to a Thursday news release from Paxton’s office.

“I will not allow cities to unlawfully raise taxes on hardworking Texans. That is why I took aggressive action against over 130 Texas cities to hold them accountable and ensure they comply with state law,” Paxton said in a statement. “Cities cannot fail to abide by state audit requirements without consequences. My office will continue to aggressively enforce Texas law to protect taxpayers across the state.” 

The news release said Paxton’s office sent letters to the cities to notify them that they are prohibited from raising ad valorem taxes above the no-new-revenue tax rate, or the rate that would bring in the same amount of money as last year. 

According to Paxton’s office, the over 130 cities were identified as cities that failed to comply with Senate Bill 1851, which was passed in 2025. The passage of that bill led to a statewide investigation to determine if any cities failed to comply with the law for the new fiscal year. 

Roma, San Perlita and Weslaco are the only Valley cities that received “violation determination letters,” but Paxton’s office did not say how the cities failed to comply with the state law.

Channel 5 News reached out to all three Valley cities for comment. A spokesperson for the city of Weslaco issued the following statement in full: 

"The City of Weslaco is aware of the determination issued by the Office of the Attorney General regarding Senate Bill 1851 and the City’s FY 2025 audit filing timeline.

The City’s annual audit was completed and made publicly available on April 10, 2026, through the City Commission agenda packet process, and was formally accepted and filed by the City Commission on April 16, 2026.

The City is currently reviewing the determination with legal counsel and bond counsel to better understand the impact and evaluate any available next steps under state law.  

The City of Weslaco remains financially stable and committed to transparency, accountability, and compliance with all applicable reporting requirements moving forward."