The Houston Chronicle's Janet Elliott noted in her blog this week the creation of TFR.
December 05, 2006Too much of a good thing
Returning the state budget surplus to taxpayers will be job one for a newly formed advocacy group. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, https://www.empowertexans.com, will be led by Michael Quinn Sullivan, who has served as vice president and spokesman for the limited government Texas Public Policy Foundation, a favorite among conservative lawmakers. "Texas must enact strong limitations on government spending, and cap the revenues government can take from the people," Sullivan said in a press release.
Legislative leaders have said that much of the surplus, expected to be $15 billion for the next biennium, will be needed to pay for cuts in school property taxes, which are being phased in over three years.
A group that advocates for low-income Texans, the Center for Public Policy Priorities, has a decidedly different view of the budgetary outlook.
Sullivan's group will be scoring members of the Legislature on fiscal responsibility issues and sending the results back home to local taxpayers. He said lawmakers will be notified in advance of votes that could be included in their score. Stay tuned for some interesting budget debates next year.
