State
These Republicans Are Fundraising With Phelan
Nine lawmakers are holding a fundraiser alongside the embattled Speaker of the House.
Democrat Ana-Maria Ramos Enters Race for Speaker of the House
Ramos is the first Democrat to file for the position.
John Smithee Files for Speaker of the House
Smithee is the fifth Republican candidate to mount a challenge to incumbent Dade Phelan.
AG Paxton Cautions Against Unsolicited Voter Registration Applications
The advisory responds to recent mass mailouts of unsolicited voter registration forms by third parties at taxpayers’ expense.
State Archive
Gov. Perry Readies a Christmas Present for College Students and an Accountability Lesson for Higher Ed
How do Texas college students know their tuition money and the share of taxes their parents paid that go towards higher education are actually used for expenditures that enhance the education they receive? Unfortunately, they don't because the state's higher...
Helping People
Does big government help people? The assumption made all too often is that the bigger the government, the more expansive the program, the more helpful it is. Indeed, we see that in the metrics used to justify continuing big government programs: how much money we...
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. ...
Return the Surplus
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...