The Dallas Morning News blog is reporting that Rep. Fred Hill (R-Richardson) will not seek re-election. Hill now tells the Morning News that his one regret is "not passing legislation letting North Texas have local elections on 
expanding rail service." That's right — Hill only wishes he had been able to increase the sales tax another 1 percent to 9.25 percent. This blog has noted that Rep. Hill has been the most vehement opponent of limits on property taxes and appraisals, voted to turn a $2.5 billion property tax cut into a $4.4 billion spending increase, and recently stated in a deposition that he knows nothing about the setting of the constitutional spending limit, even though as a member of the Legislative Budget Board he is charged with implementing it.
Taxpayers in Rep. Hill's district will now have a chance to look for a candidate who will be an advocate for fiscal responsibility in the Legislature.
