Texas lawmakers often tout their commitment to limited government, but their excessive budget behavior tells another story.  In the current legislative session (ending June 2), they were handed a golden opportunity: a massive $24 billion surplus. They could have used…

Spending in the proposed 2026-27 Texas budget is very Democrat friendly. Fifty-seven of the 62 Democrats in the Texas House voted for the budget; all 11 Democrats in the Texas Senate voted for it. And why shouldn’t they? In the…

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for May 15th, 2025 Texas House of Representatives Subject: House Bill 4847 (HB 4847) – School recapture transparency Subject: House Bill 1449 (HB 1449) – Streamlines mobile food permitting Subject:…

Despite its conservative image, Texas is a haven for crony capitalism. Texans provide billions of dollars for big and small business and special interests groups through multiple channels, including property tax abatements for manufacturers and subsidies in the Texas budget. …

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for May 14th, 2025 Texas House of Representatives Subject: House Joint Resolution 73 (HJR 73) – Expanded tax relief for elderly or disabled Subject: House Bill 982 (HB 982) –…

Texas should end the Texas Lottery and Lottery Commission, and stop exploiting struggling families to fund the government through gambling. The Texas Lottery Commission should not be continued this session—it should be abolished. There are several opportunities to accomplish this…

While Washington under Trump sought to “drain the swamp,” Texas lawmakers are filling it back up. The state’s latest budget is a glaring indictment of government excess, and it’s missing a critical weapon against waste: DOGE, the Delivery of Government…

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for May 13th, 2025 Texas House of Representatives Subject: House Bill 2545 (HB 2545) – New State-run grant program Subject: House Bill 4120 (HB 4120) – Inmate pre-release welfare Subject:…

The Texas budget is put together using smoke and mirrors. Everything about the appropriations process is designed to hide the total cost and true size of the state government from Texas taxpayers. For instance, the Legislative Budget Board shows that…

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for May 12th, 2025 Texas House of Representatives Subject: House Joint Resolution 35 (HJR 35) – Grant Program from ESF Subject: House Joint Resolution 47 (HJR 47) – New Grant…

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for May 10th, 2025 Texas House of Representatives Subject: House Joint Resolution 218 (HJR 218) – Energy Fund Expansion Subject: House Bill 842 (HB 842) – Study at taxpayer expense…

Introduction The Texas Constitution contains two limits on state government spending. One of them is a balanced budget amendment, known as the Pay-As-You-Go Limit. Because of this, Texas cannot use deficit spending to support most state expenditures. While this is…

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for May 9th, 2025 Texas House of Representatives Subject: House Joint Resolution 175 (HJR 175) – Money Freedom Subject: House Joint Resolution 88 (HJR 88) – Niche Property tax exemption…

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…

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has issued the following vote notice for May 8th, 2025 Texas House of Representatives Subject: Senate Bill 17 (SB 17) – Hostile Foreign Property Ownership Subject: Senate Bill 17 (SB 17) – Hostile Foreign Property Ownership…