Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says House Speaker Dade Phelan is a “Republican in Name Only, Really a Democrat”
State
Texas Library Association Hosts Critical Race Theory Speaker
Conference keynote speaker Ibram X. Kendi spoke on representation and promoted his new books on antiracism.
Proposed School Bonds Increase Texans’ Property Tax Burdens by Billions
More than 100 local districts put a combined $16 billion in property tax-backed debt on the May 7 ballot.
Federal Court Deals ‘Huge Win’ for Texas’ New Life-Saving Law
“The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has officially ordered the dismissal of all challenges to the Texas Heartbeat Act’s private-enforcement provision.”
Texans Can Fight Their Property Tax Bills by Protesting Appraisals
Protesting your property appraisals is your right as a Texan.
MOST RECENT
Speaker Still Hasn’t Issued Arrest Order for Absent House Democrats
State Rep. Biedermann says neither the Texas Department of Public Safety or House sergeant-at-arms have been directed by Speaker Phelan to arrest no-show lawmakers.
Border County Struggles With Security as Abbott Postures
Kinney County is looking into private donations to fund private security plan.
Phelan Finally Strips Democrat Joe Moody of ‘No. 2’ Position
Phelan has thus far been reluctant to punish Democrat quorum-breakers in any meaningful way.
Conservatives Chart Course for States to Secure Future Elections
CPAC panel says the Big Lie the left is telling is that states’ voting integrity laws are “voter suppression.”
Democrat Admits He’s Still in Texas
San Antonio Democrat Leo Pacheco writes that he cannot afford to be away from work and “won’t go friendly” if found by law enforcement.
While House is Paralyzed, Senate Moves Quickly on Special Session Items
The Senate has passed seven of the 11 items on the special session agenda, including election integrity, bail reform, and social media censorship.
House Democrats Left Texas to Kill Conservative Priorities. Republicans Let Them.
While it’s unknown how this saga will end, the record shows House Republicans enabled the Democrat walkout that has paralyzed the Legislature.
Cruise Lines Requiring Customers to Show Proof of Vaccination in Texas
The Vaccine Passport Prohibition is not stopping Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
Abortion Businesses Sue to Stop Texas’ New Pro-Life Law
“This lawsuit is a complete joke and is nothing more than a baseless scare tactic with no legal footing.”
Texas Senate Passes Election Integrity Bill
State Sen. Bryan Hughes says his bill “makes it easy to vote and hard to cheat.”
ARCHIVE
Was Bush A Fiscal Conservative? Stop Laughing…
The media has had a field day with Gov. Rick Perry’s recent assertion that George W. Bush was never a fiscal conservative. His comments were captured — of course — on YouTube. The real problem, of course, is that he was speaking absolute truth.
Return to Sender
A few months ago we talked about the state spending a bucket-load of your money to buy a letter allegedly penned by Alamo defender David Crockett. Okay, allegedly is a stretch – most experts were sure it was a fake.
Don’t Buy Lies
Proposals to eliminate property taxes using the sales tax are gaining steam, but even among supporters there is a common misconception. Some believe the proposal would cause the sales tax to rise to confiscatory levels.
Sure, liberals like to make that claim, and the media echoes it. It just ain’t right, though.
Bad Policy Ideas Never Die
Some things are just bad public policy, particularly when they deal with eliminating competition. Maybe even especialyl when competition is limited. This is especially true of efforts to make all states levy sales taxes the same way.
Tax Issue Hot? You Betcha
The Austin American-Statesman is reporting the obvious today: Texas voters want substantive reform to our tax system.
Political consultant Todd Smith sums it up pretty well:
“Streamlining” The Taxpayers
Task Force Considers Elimination of the School Property Tax
The Legislature must begin to explore ways to phase out and ultimately eliminate the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) property tax. Toward that end, the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute launched a Property Tax Task Force three months ago to examine available options over the Interim so that legislators are prepared to begin the necessary work of revitalizing homeownership while funding our schools through a fairer, broad-based system.
Eliminate School Property Taxes? Yes!
We all know the time is long overdue to rip the poisonous weed of property taxes out of the state’s economic garden. We might actually get the chance if State Rep. Phil King of Weatherford gets his way.
Not the Legislature’s Business
Most Texans are worried about how they are going to pay next year’s property taxes, or are concerned about how the new business income tax is going to affect their job. The Legislature? Well, their taking time next week to listen to Dallas Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones talk about why cable customers should be forced to buy the NFL Network. (I sent a letter to lawmakers today, which you can read here, opposing legislative involvement in this issue.)
Should Texas and Local Governments Use Tax Dollars to Subsidize Housing?
The Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs may spend $30.9 million in public funds on renovating apartment complexes in Northwest Houston to serve as low income housing. Meanwhile, Austin approved $55 million in bonds for so-called affordable housing, but should government be in this business at all?