Phelan needs to memory hole his disastrous primary.
State
Republican Lawmaker Blasts Stephanie Klick for ‘Out of Context’ Political Ad
“This appears to be a case of lying through omission.”
New Poll Shows Texas Republicans Oppose Giving Tax Dollars to Disney
Voters agree with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s proposal to end funds for the woke corporation.
Abbott Says He Supports School Choice and ‘Fully Funding’ Public Schools
Abbott’s words on school choice, however, run in contrast to some of his recent actions.
Texas Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Property Tax Relief Propositions
A majority of Texans voted in favor of two propositions set to lower property tax rates for some across the state.
MOST RECENT
Absent House Democrat Michelle Beckley Announces Bid for Congress
Beckley has narrowly won the last two election cycles for her state House seat.
GOP Lawmakers Set the Record Straight on Texas Election Bills
Republicans debunk Democrat talking points and detail what is—and isn’t—included in the state’s voting security legislation.
Gov. Abbott Says Texas House’s Chance of Passing Child Protection Laws Was ‘Nil’
The specific laws would prohibit medical professionals from performing mutilating gender procedures on minors.
Will Republicans Strip Absent Democrats of Their Leadership Positions?
With a week of an insufficient number of lawmakers present to conduct business, and with the special session one-third of the way complete, the House is paralyzed and has been reluctant to penalize the absent lawmakers.
Bill Filed Would Audit 2020 Election in Major Texas Counties
With House Democrats out of the state and no end in sight to their escape, the Texas Voter Confidence Act’s path to law appears uphill.
House Democrats Remind Speaker of the Coalitions That Put Him There
“There needs to be 76 members who decide who our next Speaker is, and more than 60 are not there.”
Gov. Abbott Remains Silent as Texas Lags Behind in Protecting Children
“Texas must act now to protect our children.”
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.
ARCHIVE
State Rep. Tells Court: I Know Nothing
In what is either a rare act of political honesty or an unbelievable admission of dereliction of duty, or both, State Rep. Fred Hill (R-Richardson) swore under oath that he doesn’t know anything about the state’s existing spending limit.
Odd, considering he has served for years on the extremely powerful Legislative Budget Board – the 10 appointed members of which are specifically charged by the Legislature to “Adopt a constitutional spending limit.†In fact, that is the first responsibility listed on the LBB web site!
“I do not have any involvement in the development or calculation of the State spending limit,†swore Mr. Hill on August 7, 2007.  (Taxpayers and voters would be excused if they break into a little swearing of their own at this point.)
Lawmaker Math
You might recall a few weeks ago I noted that the Legislature’s new $3 billion-over-10-year cancer fund was probably not going to accomplish much more than spend a lot of your money. Not my opinion, but that of scientists actually in the field. "(T)he question is how to get the best bang for your buck. I don't think that's done by politicizing diseases and putting them on the ballot," said the chief of staff at Ben Taub Hospital.
School Tax Scam
Here’s a nice little scam floating around school districts: claiming credit for cutting taxes when they haven’t.
Bad Tax Ideas Never Go Away
Fighting tax-and-spendoholics is like playing Wack-A-Mole at the arcade. You knock them down, only to find they pop right back up. The lesson? We have to move faster and hit harder.
Last legislative session, taxpayers were successful in stopping tax-and-spendoholics from increasing the taxes to fund further boondoggle spending on more light-rail and other mass transit pork (the only thing “mass†is the cost – mass transit fails to actually relieve congestion, dollar for dollar). But, hey, those trains are fun at Disney World…
Road Taxes Should Fund Roads? What A Crazy Idea…
State Sen. John Carona says in today’s Dallas Morning News that Texas must “stop the diversion of gas tax funds for other uses.†That’s welcome news. While the state’s constitution currently requires transportation funds to be used for transportation expenses, “transportation†is a constantly-expending term.
According to the Morning News, almost a third of Texas’ gasoline tax revenues for transportation have been “diverted†away from true transportation projects.
Privatization Serves Taxpayers Even When Contractors Fail
Advocates of big government rarely let facts get in the way of their pursuit of growing budgets. Such is the case with Waco Tribune-Herald editor John Young, whose weekly column is very often devoted to the worship of government (of the activist variety) and the damnation of conservative, free market principles.
Property Tax Relief… For Government Employees
The headline in today's Houston Chronicle says it all: City union asks for property tax relief. My heart leapt for joy: Bureaucrats are now joining the call for tax relief!
But then I read the article… They don't want property tax relief for all taxpayers, only for government employees. Acting in true-to-bureaucratic form, the city employee union there is looking for a new taxpayer-funded program that would pay the property taxes of city employees. The audacity almost makes the head spin.
Ineffective Treatment?
The Houston Chronicle reported over the weekend that medical professionals are skeptical that the legislature's new $3 billion "cancer fund" will accomplish much more than spend $3 billion of the taxpayers' money.
But, don't worry, it was created with the best of intentions… State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), summed it up nicely in her quote to the Chronicle that "she'd ‘like to sit back and tell my grandchildren I had something to do with the cure.' "
Deadweight, and Dead Weight
An elected official (a Republican, no less) told me yesterday he doesn't mind paying taxes because it is "the price of freedom." His doe-eyed statement was wrong on a great many levels, practical and philosophical. First and foremost, freedom's price has been paid — again and again — by the blood of patriots on battlefields near and far, not collected by revenue agents.
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Tainted Performance Measures at the Department of Agriculture
Today, the State Auditor released a report certifying that the Department of Agriculture met only 60 percent (3 of 5 with one of the three certified with qualification) of its performance measures. That's the same Department of Agriculture that, as noted in this post , earlier this month sponsored a swanky gourmet dinner in Austin.