State news in Texas
State
Two Harris County Lawmakers Withdraw Support for Burrows’ Speaker Bid
Once listed as supporters of Dustin Burrows, Mano DeAyala and Charles Cunningham reportedly say they will support the Republican nominee, David Cook.
Trump Jr. Rips GOP Defectors in Speaker Showdown
Donald Trump Jr.’s intervention underscores the growing national attention on the Texas House speaker race.
Republicans Call to Rein in the Texas Ethics Commission’s Policing of Free Speech
The executive committee called for removing the TEC’s authority over private citizens and preventing its further expansion.
Will Texas Legislators Advance Reforms to Public Education?
One grassroots organization focused on education welcomes the addition of novel ideas to the conversation.
State Archive
Energy Taxes Today Hurt Us Tomorrow
What do you do when the price of an essential commodity has risen so high that it fuels inflation, devastates family budgets and threatens the economy? Obviously, you raise taxes on it, causing its price to go up even more! At least, that’s what you do if the...
Advertising Government
When government resorts to advertising its programs and services, that’s a sure sign government has gotten just a little too big. Texas bureaucrats spend millions every year advertising the Children’s Health Insurance Program and other welfare assistance...
Texas School Districts Plotting Property Tax Rate Increases
The San Antonio Express-News reports that numerous school districts in San Antonio and around the state are preparing to ask their voters to approve tax rate increases. One such district is San Antonio ISD which is on the verge of seeking a tax rate increase even...
State Rep. Tells Court: I Know Nothing
In what is either a rare act of political honesty or an unbelievable admission of dereliction of duty, or both, State Rep. Fred Hill (R-Richardson) swore under oath that he doesn’t know anything about the state’s existing spending limit. Odd, considering he has...
Lawmaker Math
You might recall a few weeks ago I noted that the Legislature's new $3 billion-over-10-year cancer fund was probably not going to accomplish much more than spend a lot of your money. Not my opinion, but that of scientists actually in the field. "(T)he question is how...
School Tax Scam
Here's a nice little scam floating around school districts: claiming credit for cutting taxes when they haven’t. You’ll remember that the Legislature bought down school “maintenance & operations” property taxes to $1, using proceeds from their new business tax....
Bad Tax Ideas Never Go Away
Fighting tax-and-spendoholics is like playing Wack-A-Mole at the arcade. You knock them down, only to find they pop right back up. The lesson? We have to move faster and hit harder. Last legislative session, taxpayers were successful in stopping tax-and-spendoholics...
Road Taxes Should Fund Roads? What A Crazy Idea…
State Sen. John Carona says in today’s Dallas Morning News that Texas must “stop the diversion of gas tax funds for other uses.†That’s welcome news. While the state’s constitution currently requires transportation funds to be used for transportation...
Privatization Serves Taxpayers Even When Contractors Fail
Advocates of big government rarely let facts get in the way of their pursuit of growing budgets. Such is the case with Waco Tribune-Herald editor John Young, whose weekly column is very often devoted to the worship of government (of the activist variety) and the...