State

State Archive

Anything But Efficient

Usually "expanding efficiency" means streamlining and saving money. When the government is involved, more often than not, the opposite is true. Recently the Senate has passed and the House has passed on second reading SB 1125 which purports to expand Texas' energy...

Senate Fails Higher Ed Transparency Test

Texans should be well aware of the ever-growing movement to bring more transparency to the state's institutions of higher education with Governor Perry leading the charge. Unfortunately, the Texas Senate failed the test of upholding accountability for our public...

Call Off Revenue Hunt

It's telling that lawmakers are so busily pursuing new revenues this week, while the Appropriations Committee has refused to allow legislation to the floor that would limit future government growth. Conservatives should be worried about such priorities. Legislation is...

Make Spending Limits Real

This legislative session has revealed the importance of keeping a tight control over government spending in good times, so that bad times aren’t nearly so rough. But with just days left in Texas’ legislative session, hopes are dimming for such reform unless lawmakers...

Who Opposes College Transparency?

A Texas senator is staunchly defending the higher education establishment by opposing efforts to make college more affordable and accessible. That’s bad news for working families and students struggling to pay tuition. According to news reports, State Sen. Judith...

Stood Up And Won

Conservative senators stood up to the big spenders and won. They protected the state’s rainy day fund from misuse and put the state on the right trajectory for a fiscally responsible budget. Texas’ taxpayers were heard, loud and clear, during the budget process in...

Ogden Removes RDF From Senate Proposal

Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden announced on the chamber's floor today he would remove use of the Rainy Day Fund as an automatic financing method for the 2012-2013 budget. The president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility offered the following statement. “We...

Using The RDF Right

When grow-government shills get desperate, they can be counted on to lie, distort and misrepresent. Such is the case on and around the Senate floor today. Liberal activists are passing around a 2009 letter from conservatives -- including Texans for Fiscal...

Revenue Over Reform

There has been a great deal of Legislative attention focused on the hunt for new revenues, but almost none has been directed toward meaningful reform meant to avoid this type of shortfall in the future by limiting the state's overspending. While the Texas Senate...