by Michael Quinn Sullivan | Oct. 2, 2013 | Uncategorized
If Jerry Paterson is the state’s next lieutenant governor, conservative groups and donors will find themselves under the same attacks from state government that the Obama Administration’s IRS has been waging from DC. Or so he indicated last night. Today, he says he...
by Tony McDonald | Oct. 2, 2013 | Uncategorized
When Representatives Jonathan Stickland (R–Bedford) and J.D. Sheffield (R–Gatesville) arrived in Austin in January, they were both freshman Republican legislators; newly elected to their first public offices. Both ran for office with an “R” next to their name and on...
by Tony McDonald | Sep. 26, 2013 | State
*Must run for office and win to participate. Note: This post has been updated to include a series of “Best Of” documents highlighting some of the more interesting documents found by Empower Texans. In light of the recent scandals surrounding politicians...
by Waste Watch | Sep. 25, 2013 | Uncategorized
Tomorrow the Austin City Council will take it upon itself to decide if $355,000 of your tax dollars should be spent on an art project for a new cell phone waiting lot at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA). It seems ABIA already has a perfectly functional...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | Sep. 25, 2013 | Federal, Uncategorized
The last 21 hours have been truly inspiring. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has been standing against not only the specifics of ObamaCare, but—almost more importantly—the Republican and Democratic establishment. We know why the Democrats are supporting ObamaCare and opposing Sen....
by Ross Kecseg | Sep. 24, 2013 | Local
You wouldn’t think that a Water Board could cause so many problems for Texans. Perhaps that’s precisely why, much like rebellious toddlers, some public officials at TRWD insist on overstepping the legal boundaries designed to hold them accountable. We’ve...
by Greg Harrison | Sep. 21, 2013 | Uncategorized
Your three Republican candidates for Attorney General answered some important questions last Saturday afternoon in a forum held in UT-Tyler’s Ornelas Activity Center. Questions ranged all over the spectrum of conservative concern, and were designed to determine...
by Ross Kecseg | Sep. 19, 2013 | Local
We recently criticized the state for creating a hopelessly complex information maze that keeps unsuspecting Texans in the dark, and enables local officials to further fuel their borrowing addiction. The State Comptroller’s office, headed by transparency champion Susan...
by Tony McDonald | Sep. 18, 2013 | Local, Uncategorized
Monday, the House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations (or as I like to call it, the “He’s a witch! Get him! Committee”) met at the Texas Capitol. This is a committee that has been tasked by Joe Straus with investigating the activities of...
by Ross Kecseg | Sep. 17, 2013 | Local
Despite previous claims from district board members, staff and legal counsel, the Tarrant Regional Water District is required by law to make committee meetings open to the public. Until very recently the public was not notified of, or allowed to attend, these...
by Ross Kecseg | Sep. 12, 2013 | Local
The issuance of debt by government officials is a passive form of taxation, because debt issued today will require taxes on future income. And because borrowing requires the payment of interest, the cost to taxpayers is typically twice the amount borrowed and spent....
by Dustin Matocha | Sep. 12, 2013 | Uncategorized
Can UT’s reputation survive serious allegations of corruption and malfeasance? Not as long as they go unanswered. Tony McDonald and I are asking our fellow Longhorns to begin demanding public accountability. [side_text]Call the Office of the Chancellor today and...
by Nathan Ofe | Sep. 11, 2013 | Uncategorized
As is the case each year on this day, this anniversary, there’s much on my mind. The events of this day, which have defined the very nature of the world for much of my life, still play over and over again in my mind. Not because of a lost friend or family member, but...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | Sep. 10, 2013 | State, Uncategorized
[UPDATED AT END WITH NEW DROP-OUTS.] Another “F” has dropped out of the Texas House with the announcement that State Rep. Rob Orr (R-Burleson) won’t be seeking re-election. He joins a growing list of low-rated lawmakers opting to get out rather than face stiff...
by Texas Scorecard | Sep. 10, 2013 | Local
A state district judge in Bexar County today ordered Murphy Turner & Associates to pay $41,000 in discovery costs in a trademark infringement case. The lawsuit results from alleged infringement on the Empower Texans name “Texans for Fiscal...
by Ross Kecseg | Sep. 6, 2013 | Local
Despite severe warnings about heavy debt from the state’s comptroller, cities and schools have responded by proposing more of the same. Studies from the Texas Public Policy Foundation and elsewhere find that Texans face a local-debt epidemic, driven by local school...
by Dustin Matocha | Sep. 5, 2013 | Uncategorized
Perhaps her score of 64.8 on the 2013 Fiscal Responsibility Index is a sign that State Rep. Linda Harper-Brown has been in the Legislature one-term too long? A former Taxpayer Champion, she underperformed and underwhelmed this session, in what can only be described...
by Dustin Matocha | Sep. 4, 2013 | State, Uncategorized
We’ve compared the scores of all incumbents in the 83rd Legislature compared what they scored in the 82nd session for taxpayers to see just who let them down the most. You’ll notice several of this session’s biggest drops in the House were members who received praise...
by Texas Scorecard | Sep. 3, 2013 | Local
Attorneys working on behalf of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and its president, Michael Quinn Sullivan, today filed a lawsuit against the Texas Ethics Commission for violating the state’s Open Records laws. The commission has become a tool of a few powerful...
by Dustin Matocha | Sep. 3, 2013 | Uncategorized
If Texas is such a red state, why was so much “purple” legislation passed this session? Perhaps it’s because so many Republicans in the Legislature voted so much like their Democratic counterparts, they forgot the color of the team they were on. Professor Mark...
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