Yesterday, Texas Lt. Gov. candidate Todd Staples issued a press release misrepresenting the record of his opponent, Sen. Dan Patrick, on the Fiscal Responsibility Index.
In 2007, Sen. Patrick voted against the bloated budget and had the fourth-highest rating of all 31 senators on that inaugural Fiscal Responsibility Index.
As a note, Mr. Staples didn’t ask us about, or ask to understand, our 2007 scoring system.
It is one thing for Todd Staples to attack an opponent. It is quite another for Todd Staples to misrepresent Sen. Patrick’s record on the Fiscal Responsibility Index. While Mr. Staples’ legislative services pre-dates the Fiscal Responsibility Index, it should not be ignored that he voted for a 16% budget increase in 2001 and later—in 2006—Staples voted to impose the gross receipts tax on Texas’ small businesses.
On the other hand, Dan Patrick has consistently ranked near or at the top of the Fiscal Responsibility Index and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility rankings since he joined the Senate in 2007. Indeed, Mr. Patrick has ranked in the top 4 every biennium.
For the last two legislative sessions, Dan Patrick has been one of three senators to receive our highest grades.
In Sen. Patrick, we would have a lieutenant governor who has stood steadfast for commonsense budget and property tax reforms, while arguing consistently for making the state senate more transparent and responsive to the people of Texas.
For those reason and more, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has strongly endorsed Dan Patrick for Lt. Gov. in 2014.
