Texas is often thought of as a conservative state. Teachers, for instance, complain about inadequate spending on public education and low salaries. Democrat State Rep. James Talarico (Austin) has argued that the low salaries are “pushing teachers out of the…

The state of Texas is one of only 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid after the passage of Obamacare. That is a good thing. Medicaid expansion is costly and does not provide timely access to quality care. If you…

In a year when taxpayers are barely hanging on and dealing with record-high inflation, rising energy costs, and historically high property taxes, the Legislature has opted to act decisively. They have wasted no time pushing for multinational, billion-dollar corporations to…

It’s no secret that leadership in the Texas Legislature has been heavily focusing on property tax relief packages in recent weeks. The Texas House and Senate have both filed their proposals, and both seek to provide minimal relief for homeowners….

If you have been paying attention to all of the noise surrounding property tax relief this session, you have probably heard the phrase, “We are going to give Texans the biggest property tax cut in history!” This was most recently…

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is set to give his State of the State address on Thursday evening and lay out his vision for the ongoing 88th Legislative Session and beyond. It is widely expected he will name specific policy issues…

Property taxes are a contentious issue for many people, with some (mostly local government officials) arguing that they are an important source of funding for government services. In contrast, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR) and many Texas taxpayers argue that…

It is National School Choice Week, and if you have been paying attention at all over the last few years, you are probably aware that a massive wave of school choice legislation is being implemented across the country. Much of…

Recently, the House and Senate released their versions of the appropriation bill. House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 respectively lay out the biennial budget for the 2024-2025 biennium. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has already highlighted that $15 billion in…

For years, fiscal watchdog organizations, including ours, worked to secure an additional spending limit or guardrail on the state appropriations process to prevent lawmakers from continuing the trend of expanding government at a rate faster than the population growth it…

The 88th Legislative Session Is Nearly Here It is that time again. An odd-numbered year has begun, so we are just days away from the 88th Legislative Session beginning. So much has occurred since the last time the Legislature met,…

As 2022 comes to a close and we ramp up our efforts in preparation for all that 2023 brings, which includes the Texas 88th Legislative Session, we thought it might be prudent to summarize our top five pieces of written…

What is Festivus? Finding its origins in the hit ’90s sitcom Seinfeld from an episode entitled “The Strike”, the character George Costanza’s family celebrates a holiday called Festivus as an alternative to Christmas, and a tongue-in-cheek protest to the commercialism surrounding…

With the 88th Legislative Session set to begin in January, we are increasingly asked by taxpayers and lawmakers alike what winning looks like to Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. That is what we are going to discuss in this article. As…

Much to the chagrin of fiscal conservatives, perhaps the most significant thing to come out of the 2022 midterm elections was the overwhelming success of many bond propositions and tax rate increases on the ballot. In a country where we…