The Latest
Former Houston Teacher Accused of Sex with Middle School Students
Reginald Long taught at the Academy of Accelerated Learning, a charter school in Houston, during the 2022-2023 school year.
Illegal Alien Tied to Islamic Terrorist Group Attempts to Cross the Border
Lebanon national Basel Bassel Ebbadi told Border Patrol agents he was a part of Hezbollah and planned to make a bomb while in the United States.
Y’All Answered: Defund Woke Schools?
Readers offer their insights and experiences.
US Supreme Court Extends Pause on Texas Border Security Law
The law was supposed to finally take effect, but the court issued an extension as the clock ran out.
The Archive
Sullivan tells lawmakers: It’s okay to bust the cap for tax relief
Texas Senators today voted to bust the current spending cap so as to provide more property tax relief with the surplus than they might have otherwise. Before their vote, Michael Quinn Sullivan sent the following letter. February 14, 2007 Dear Members of the Texas...
Shenandoah Texas May Set Record for Per Capita Cost of Taxpayer-Funded Lobbyists
The Houston Chronicle recently reported that the town of Shenandoah Texas has hired taxpayer-funded lobbyists for $30,000 this session. At first blush, this is not shocking since our friends at Americans for Prosperity-Texas have estimated that governmental entities...
Taxpayers Deserve to be Paid Back
Corpus Christi's KRIS television reported this week that the Nueces County Hospital District is asking the Legislature to pass a bill that will allow them to recover money on behalf of taxpayers when those who receive "indigent" care later receive an insurance...
Governor promotes taxpayer protection
AUSTIN, Texas – In his State of the State Address, Texas Governor Rick Perry today proposed a strong new constitutional protection for the state’s taxpayers. The measure would limit the growth in state spending to a rolling, three-year average of inflation and...
Extreme Property Taxes Cause Texas to Lead Nation in Home Foreclosures – Breaking the Backs and Dreams of Ordinary Texans
In case anyone thought the revolt against skyrocketing property taxes is just coming from mostly white middle class suburbs, the Brownsville Herald carries a powerful staff editorial today denouncing the recent seizure of 250 local homes and businesses because owners...
Hang Up on the Texas Telephone Tax
Not including the new margin tax surcharge from Sprint, Texans already paid 18 percent of their telephone bill in government taxes and fees. That's outrageous. Why shouldn't the same sales tax apply to telephone bills as to every other purchase? Now, the...
Sprinting To A New Tax
My Sprint cellphone bill arrived today, featuring a brand new fee: The Texas Margin Fee Reimbursement. This is Sprint's attempt to make visible the new business tax implemented by the Texas Legislature last sprint. Some in the legislature are crying foul, but Sprint...
Governor’s budget proposals will promote accountability, transparency
AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Rick Perry today proposed four key budget reforms designed to promote fiscal responsibility. Michael Quinn Sullivan, president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, praised the proposals, saying they shine more sunlight on the state’s finances....
Who in Austin is Concerned About Taxpayers? Who Won’t Mention Them?
A central purpose of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility is to give taxpayers a voice in Austin in the face of the powerful forces that lobby for more spending. Is there a way to determine whether fiscally conservative organizations or groups that advocate more...