Commentary
Why Republicans Should Vote Against the Texas Budget – Reason #3: The Texas Budget Has More Than $50 Billion of New Spending
When the Texas House and Texas Senate vote on whether to approve the final versions of House Bill 500 and Senate Bill 1, Figure 1 shows that they will be voting on whether to approve more than $53 billion in…
Why Republicans Should Vote Against the Texas Budget – Reason #2: The Texas Budget Belongs in California, Not Texas
Once hailed as a national model for fiscal responsibility and economic freedom, Texas now appears to be drifting dangerously close to California’s big-government playbook. The recently proposed 2026–27 Texas state budget sends a clear signal: the Lone Star State is…
Why Republicans Should Vote Against the Texas Budget – Reason #1: Texas Property Taxes are Out of Control
Since 2019, including what is proposed this session, the Texas Legislature has increased spending on public schools by about $23 billion in the name of property tax relief. It has done little to help Texans; during that period, Figure 1…
Texas Is Still Growing — But Austin Keeps Getting in the Way
Texas continues to lead in many ways. There were 192,100 new jobs added over the past year — the most of any state in raw numbers. In March alone, Texas added 26,500 nonfarm jobs, bringing the total number of jobs…
Ten Reasons Why Republicans Should Vote Against the Texas Budget
On April 11, 26 Texas House members voted against the budget bill, Senate Bill 1 (SB 1). That was the most no votes against a Texas budget since 29 members voted against the budget in 2013. Nineteen of the no…
Is Las Vegas Sands Spending Big in an Effort to Buy the Irving City Council?
Texans have long valued fiscal integrity and transparency in government. Yet today, it appears a deep-pocketed casino giant is trying to hijack one local election and buy political power right here in the Lone Star State. Situated in the southwest…
It is Time to End Hollywood Handouts
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…
Empowering Families, Funding Results: A Conservative Case for Fixing Texas’ Public Charter School Funding
Introduction We’re proud Texans. We believe in family, freedom, and personal responsibility. We trust that parents, not bureaucrats, know what’s best for their children. And we understand that good stewardship of tax dollars means investing in what works, not simply…
Texas Property Taxes Expected to Increase by $2.5 Billion This Year
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…
$51 Billion in Property Tax Relief? How the Texas Budget Betrays Fiscal Conservatism
“This week, I helped pass the most conservative Texas House budget in history.” Texas Republican Rep. Jared Patterson posted that message after the Republican-led Texas House recently passed its 2026–27 budget version CSSB 1. He and other Republicans also claimed…
Texas House Passes Record-Breaking Budget That Grows Government, Sidelines Tax Relief
In the early hours of Friday morning, the Texas House of Representatives passed SB 1, the proposed state budget for the 2026–27 biennium, after over 14 hours of debate that stretched from noon on April 10 into 3 a.m. on…
Why Texas’ 2026-27 Budget is Not Conservative
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…
Democrat Deal in the Texas House Takes a New Turn
The saga of Housing Finance Corporations (HFCs) in Texas, a system ripe with cronyism, tax exemptions, and insider deals, has taken another troubling turn. Following our last report, the legislative maneuvering has continued with new developments exposing the entrenched interests…
The Machinery of Government: SB 2330 and Taxpayers
The machinery of government should not be used to facilitate the financial operations of private organizations—regardless of their mission or membership. While state and local governments exist to serve the people of Texas, they were never intended to act as…
Ending Renewables, Not Adding New Regulations, Will Restore Grid Reliability
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…