From the House Floor to TASB: Hiring Career F Lawmaker Gary VanDeaver
The Texas Association of School Boards is not looking for a new direction. It is looking for a better lobbyist. On September 22, TASB’s board named former State Rep. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston, Texas, as its next executive director, effective October 1.1 VanDeaver...
TEC Considers Lawmaker Pay and Lobbyist Benefit Increases
The Texas Ethics Commission (TEC), an eight-member board appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House, is scheduled to meet Wednesday, September 23 in Capitol Extension Room E1.014 to consider amendments to Chapter 50 of its rules on...
Texas Secures $7.5 Billion Federal Reimbursement
Every penny should be returned to Texas taxpayers. Governor Greg Abbott announced Friday1 that Texas will receive $7.5 billion from the federal government to reimburse border security costs Texas taxpayers carried during the Biden administration. After speaking with...
Vikki Goodwin’s Record: Failing Taxpayers for Years
Vikki Goodwin wants to be Texas’ next lieutenant governor. For taxpayers who want to know what she would do with one of the most powerful offices in state government, they need only look at what she has done with the power she already holds. The record is remarkably...
The Texas Lottery Cannot Be Reformed, Only Abolished
On Monday, September 14, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility testified before the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs and told them a simple truth: reforming the Texas Lottery doesn’t address the fundamental problems it presents taxpayers and families in Texas. SB...
Talarico’s Disturbing 2020 Comments Resurface
Should we dismantle capitalism? A resurfaced video1 from a September 2020 virtual candidate forum hosted by the Austin chapter of the Sierra Club is drawing new attention to James Talarico’s views on capitalism, Texas energy, and the role of government. Asked about...
Gillespie County Plans a Property Tax Increase
Gillespie County is preparing to increase property taxes on local taxpayers while sitting on a large general fund balance. The rate proposed by the Gillespie County Commissioners for the 2026 tax year is $0.2873 per $100 of valuation, above the no-new-revenue (NNR)...
Lubbock Planning Property Tax Hikes
Lubbock is preparing to raise city property taxes on local taxpayers, again. The rate proposed for 20261 is $0.513421 per $100 of valuation, which is above the no-new-revenue rate of $0.475154 and just under the voter-approval rate of $0.513447. Because the...
Gina Hinojosa Failed Taxpayers Every Session She Served
Gina Hinojosa is asking Texans to make her governor in November. But for taxpayers evaluating her record, there is a straightforward reason to be highly skeptical: Hinojosa has earned an F on the Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (TFR) Fiscal Responsibility Index in...