Gambling and Casinos are the Wrong Choice for Texas Families In the 89th legislative session, the topic of expanding gambling in Texas has once again reared its ugly head. From casinos to the lottery, proponents claim this will create jobs,…

HB 3 Is a Good Start, But More Is Needed. Today, the Texas House Committee on Public Education is hearing testimony (watch here) on HB 3, the school choice bill in the House. This could be the first school choice…

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…

Texas taxpayers have an urgent need for property tax relief, which should include a clear path to eliminating school district maintenance and operations (M&O) property taxes—the largest portion of Texans’ property tax bills. Despite claims of historic tax cuts, Texans…

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…

Texas must take advantage of this moment to rein in its bloated government workforce and put taxpayers first. The resignation of 77,000 federal employees out of 2.2 million—and nearly 3 million including contractors—proves what we already knew: government is too…

For far too long, Texas taxpayers have been forced to foot the bill for lobbyists who often work against their own interests. Taxpayer-funded lobbying by local governments is an unethical practice that drains public funds and undermines the will of…

The Texas House sells HB 2 and HB 3 as a package deal for education reform, calling them the “Texas Two-Step.” But this so-called two-step is a misstep.  The package prioritizes billions more taxpayer money for a broken public education…

Texas House Leadership Sidesteps Full House Vote In a move that bypasses traditional legislative procedures and disrespects taxpayers, the Texas House Administration Committee has unilaterally approved significant budget increases for legislative offices, including a controversial new stipend for Democrat vice…

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…

Recent proposals by President Donald Trump to establish a U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to remove the cap on Texas’s Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) are deeply flawed. Both ideas assume that government-run investment…

A Step Toward Fiscal Reform, But More Is Needed Governor Greg Abbott’s recent “State of the State” address highlighted several important priorities for Texas. While Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR) commends the Governor’s efforts to address property tax relief and…

Texas is experiencing economic growth, but the state government isn’t keeping pace with fiscal responsibility.  In December 2024, Texas added 37,000 new jobs, marking its twelfth consecutive month of job gains. Total nonfarm employment reached a record 14,318,700, and the…

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…

Texas House Leadership’s Push to Raise Budgets Without a Vote is a Direct Assault on Fiscal Responsibility and Democracy The Texas House of Representatives is currently embroiled in a troubling move that raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and fiscal…