Tonight’s final vote on House Bill 1 tells us House leaders got the message taxpayers have been sending: live within our means! But taxpayers must remain vigilant; the session is far from over, and opportunities for taxing-and-spending mischief abound.
Certainly the budget passed out of the House isn’t perfect, and there are certainly opportunities for cost-savings still to be acted on.
With that said, the House kept spending under control by making tough choices using available dollars, and eschewing calls to tap the rainy day fund.
Texas’ taxpayers have clearly said they oppose growing government. Instead, we want to see lawmakers to focus on efficiently spending our money on core government services, cutting waste and eliminating that which isn’t strictly necessary.
Now we’ll see if the Texas Senate can similarly restrain themselves from spending more than is available.
(In the coming days, we’ll of course be talking more about specific things done to improve House Bill 1 on the floor by conservative legislators. One specific, big-ticket amendment stands out: State Rep. Phil King and several of his colleagues successfully amended House Bill 1 to remove some $100 million in new fees.)
