NEWS
Gasing Up Taxes
While House Democrats have been busily chubbing up the Calendar, the Texas Senate was preparing a sneak-attack on the taxpayers’ wallets. State Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) has tacked his Senate Bill 855 — allowing the imposition of new gas taxes and fees — onto the TxDOT re-authorization bill, House Bill 300. The bill, including the new taxes and fees, passed the Senate Monday night.
Locally Misinformed
Conservatives tend to think local government is better because it is, well, local. But is that a reasonable assumption, if the Local spending is hidden from view and bureaucrats don’t accurately report results?
Who Says They Don’t Listen?
Anyone who thinks lawmakers don’t move to fix unintended problems in legislative initiatives should see what State Rep. Jerry Madden of Plano did. He took what could have accidentially been a joke on the taxpayers, and fixed it to become a cost-saving initiative good for everyone.
Is The Gas-Tax Hike Dead?
If the Austin American-Statesman is to be believed, “votes are not there in the House” to push the 125% tax hike. That’s a direct result of the effective pressure folks have been applying! But don’t get too cocky: the measure lives…
Will Dallas Cut The Lobbyists?
Dallas city council members are facing a $190 million deficit, and much hand-wringing is going on about which services to cut. One expense that should, but won’t, be touched is the half-million in taxpayer dollars being used to lobby for more taxes and fewer limits on government.
Why Conservative Priorities Stalled In Texas House
Everyone knew this was going to be a less conservative Texas House. After all, Republicans had lost seats. In this 81st Session, economically sound legislation has been killed in committee, while big-tax/big-government bills are flying. The cause?
Pro-Taxpayer Groups Oppose 125% Gas Tax Hike Proposal
In these final weeks of the session, the Texas Legislature is poised to adopt an approach that could permit the gas tax to skyrocket from 20 cents to 45 cents per gallon.
More Education Mandates: Dems Plus RINOs Merritt & Smith
For all the whining Democrats do about unfunded mandates on public education, they sure don’t mind implementing them. The Texas House voted last night on legislation mandating that every public and private high school principle designate four people as deputy voter registrars. Every Republican, except RINOs Todd Smith and Tommy Merritt, voted against this mandate. Every Democrat, except Tracy King, voted for it.
Saying No To Property Taxes
We now know who is, and isn’t, serious about weaning Texas from oppressive property taxes. The Texas House narrowly stopped a constitutional amendment that would have allowed more entities to claim a piece of your property, and your wallet. According to the uncertified vote total, this land-grab was stopped by 44 Republicans — of the 76 currently serving as the nominal majority.
Scoring The Legislature
We’ve begun putting together the Fiscal Responsibility Index for this 81st Session. Obviously four weeks are left and a lot of legislation remains unheard, but the picture we’re seeing isn’t a good one. (Updated May 11.)
Florida’s Lege Says No
Even as the Republican-led Texas House and Senate work furiously to unravel our unemployment rules to make them more appealing to Barack Obama, Florida’s legislature rejected such efforts. My friend Adam Hasner, the Florida House Majority leader, said, “The strings attached to the $444 million are going to potentially make a bad problem worse.” Wonder if I can convince him to move to Texas?
Money For Nothing
Under legislation adopted by the Texas House yesterday, you’ll soon be paying state employees not work at their tax-funded jobs; no, you’ll be paying them to volunteer their time!