Executive Summary Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed property tax legislation passed this session by the Texas Legislature. Since then, quite a few Texas politicians have been claiming that the Legislature committed $50 billion or so property tax relief this session….

Taxpayer Dollars for the Austin Swamp, Part Two Texas lawmakers have decided that the best way to promote jobs and culture is by handing Hollywood a $1.5 billion check. On May 29, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 22, which…

It is a difficult time to be a taxpayer in Texas. One example: appropriations of state funds during the recently concluded regular session were up 55% over appropriations in 2021, an $89 billion increase in just four years, while the…

Overview The 89th Texas Legislature adjourned last week after approving a record-breaking $338 billion two-year budget, funded in part by a $24 billion surplus. While lawmakers advanced several high-profile measures, including a new school choice program and energy safety regulations, critics noted…

Texas Taxpayers Need a Break State Funds Spending Up $25 Billion The Texas Legislature is on the verge of adopting its final budget for the 2026-27 fiscal biennium. Few people are aware of this, but that budget consists of two…

Testimony on HB 4568 The 79th Texas Legislature established the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP), also known as the Film Incentive Program, in 2005. Since then, star-struck legislators have thrown well over $100 million of Texas taxpayer money…

Wherever you turn these days, Texas politicians are claiming that they are spending $51 billion on property tax relief. The problem is that the $51 billion figure has no connection to reality. For at least two reasons. First, if they…

Taking a look at the budget and Texas’ $80 billion budget surplus Executive Summary Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) biennium projects a budget surplus of $23.76 billion in state funds for the current 2024-25 fiscal biennium.  But…

This headline in last week’s Houston Chronicle captured all that is wrong with the Texas electricity market: Since 2013, when the Operating Reserve Demand Curve was approved, the Texas Legislature has sought to deal with the grid reliability problems caused…

Like most Texans, I am fed up with the rapidly growing Texas budget filled with waste, corporate cronyism, and funding for leftwing causes like DEI. Unlike most Texans, I am able to go to the Texas Capitol and testify against…

Texans to Receive Only $6 Billion in Property Tax Relief New Spending Reduces Potential Tax Cuts Now and in the Future When the Texas Senate meets this week to debate and adopt the 2026-27 budget for the state of Texas,…

Since 2011, market participants, regulators, and watchers have understood that intermittent energy sources—wind and solar—are causing three major problems in the ERCOT electric market.  First, their intermittency has increasingly pushed the grid towards unreliability. Second, they have driven reliable thermal…

The failure of property tax relief efforts over the last six years is a perfect example of how local governments are using taxpayer money to lobby against the interests of Texans.  Most local governments have abandoned any semblance of fiscal…

A sentiment making its way around the Texas Legislature is that providing tax relief for property owners is “too big of a commitment.” An element of this sentiment was expressed several times in a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing where…

Texans Will Get Less Than $4 Billion Out of the $24 Billion Budget Surplus Executive Summary Though it is difficult to discern from recent statements made by Texas’ legislative leaders, the Texas Senate has budgeted only $3 billion for new…