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State Archive

Where There is a Hill, Is There a Way for Taxpayers?

The Texas House Local Government Ways and Means Committee chaired by State Rep. Fred Hill (R-Richardson) has released its interim report.  News coverage of the report has centered on its opposition to appraisal caps, which was hardly surprising since Chairman Hill...

Advocates for Big Government: Paid for by… your taxes!

Roddy Stinson, a columnist at the San Antonio Express-News, has hit the nail on the head with a piece in today's paper. He correctly describes the response of local governments to the idea of slowing down the amount of money they can grab as "Weeping, wailing and...

Killing the Business Tax…

 When Texas lawmakers instituted the “gross margins” business tax, it is a safe bet they didn’t expect trail-lawyer-extraordinaire Mark Lanier to sue them over it. But that’s exactly what he’s planning on doing, according to today’s Houston Chronicle. ...

State Auditor: Higher Ed High on the Hog

Today, the Texas State Auditor released a detailed report on the number of full-time equivalent employees in state government.  The central conclusion of the report is that, while state agencies have reduced their number of FTE's by 8.4 percent since 1997, higher...

Suddenly Responsible?

The San Antonio Express-News has suddenly decided that lawmakers need to slow down when it comes to decisions on the budget. They need to proceed deliberately, waiting on revenue certifications and the like. Why this sudden concern for fiscal responsibility from the...