Subscribe

State

MOST RECENT

Norred: Law by Press Release

“I am appalled at this incredible failure to follow basic procedures and the almost whimsical approach to governance.”

ARCHIVE

Messing With Your Business

We know now that the state’s Texas Youth Commission was obscenely managed. The Texas Lottery was a scandal ridden mess a while back. The abuses of the Children’s Health Insurance Program are a lesson in lunacy. Name a government agency, and it’s been scandal plagued, mismanaged, or worse. And those are things legislators are supposedly elected to manage!

 

So it is nothing short of stupefying to find that the Republican-controlled Legislature seems to think they can accurately manage the private business of business better than the business owners.

Where There’s Smoke, There’s A Tax

 

Nothing is worse than having a fire, with no way to put it out. There is a clear public purpose to be served in using tax revenues to fight fires. That's why people can, with a local vote, implement an Emergency Services District. These districts levy property taxes to fund fire, emergency rescue and ambulance services.

But not content with letting local voters decide tax priorities, legislators – led by Rep. Jim Keffer (R-Eastland) – want to add a new tax on all property insurance policies in the state to fund fire protection services (HB2421). So if you and your neighbors have a fire department (full-time or volunteer), which you fully fund and staff, you'll be taxed to pay for people who haven't done so somewhere else.

Just Stop Taking Our Money!

Just Stop Taking Our Money!

In case you missed it, the Texas House this week approved the elimination of the Texas Infrastructure Fund...

Democrat Strama Files Fiscally Conservative Legislation

Mark Strama, a Democrat representing North Austin and Pflugerville, is proving that he is not beholden to liberal orthodoxy when it comes to fiscal responsibility. He has filed the following bills:

HB 2966 mandates that funds collected from specialty license plate fees must be used for the purpose and/or entity for which it was dedicated

Otto’s Motto: Property Tax Relief for Texans

State Rep. John Otto (R-Dayton) is an accountant and strong conservative leader who the Lone Star Report says "is rapidly becoming the House leadership’s resident expert on all taxation issues." He has filed numerous bills to fix abuses in the property tax system.

Support Grows for Paxton Amendment to Limit State and Local Government Spending

Support Grows for Paxton Amendment to Limit State and Local Government Spending

limitsLegislative support is increasingly emerging for House Joint Resolution 53 by Rep. Ken Paxton which would greatly strengthen the state constitutional spending limitation and, for the first time, create a similar limitation for local governments.   Authors and co-authors are a who's who of conservative legislators: 

Open Those Checkbooks

 

Another great open-government bill is HB640 by State Rep. Byran Hughes (R-Mineola). This bill would require that all expenditures by each state agency, be easily available online. The posting would also have to include the purpose of the expenditure. This will let taxpayers see exactly how our money is being spent, track waste and improve efficiency.

This is a great piece of legislation. Every member of the legislature who has promised to "protect taxpayers" should be a cosponsor of HB640.

Texas Spending Commission

 

State Sen. Dan Patrick has introduced legislation (SB1190/SJR41) that creates a government spending commission, similar to one authorized by Ronald Reagan in 1984.  Reagan's Grace Commission made nearly 2,500 recommendations that eliminated more than $420 billion in government waste.  Patrick's "Texas Spending Commission" would have audit authority over all state agencies, seeking eliminate waste, fraud and redundancy.  In a unique turn, the commission's suggested reforms could only be voted up or down by the legislature, but not amended. 

Let The Sunlight Shine

Three right-thinking members of the legislature are recommending that more House and Senate votes be recorded, and therefore subject to public review. State Rep. Dan Branch (R-Dallas), State Rep. Brian McCall (R-Plano), and State Rep. Tony Goolsby (R-Dallas), have filed several pieces of legislation that would mandate more sunlight in the legislative process.