For years, the desire for property tax relief has been at the top of Texans’ concerns. As a matter of fact, in a recent poll conducted by our friends at Texas Public Policy Foundation, it was revealed that 71% of…

Following the Texas Senate’s passage of the conference committee report on the state budget, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility president Cary Cheshire issued the following statement: Texas lawmakers have passed a budget that does not deliver substantial property tax relief. Instead…

Howdy, On this page we will list the votes and bills eligible for inclusion on the 2021 Fiscal Responsibility Index comporting to our mission and founding principles. We use the Fiscal Responsibility Index to explain the broad parameters by which we will report…

On April 22nd the Texas House is set to debate 240 amendments to the state budget. Below are TFR’s vote recommendations for the Fiscal Responsibility Index. [table id=4 /]

Quickly moving through the Texas Senate is a bill sold as a measure to protect businesses and healthcare providers from liability during the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic, but if implemented would likely accomplish the inverse of what is intended. Authored by…

Following the unanimous passage of Senate Bill 1, the state budget, in the Texas Senate, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility president Cary Cheshire issued the following statement: “The Texas Senate’s budget provides only a modest increase in total state spending below…

A lesser-known handout from taxpayers to private entities are local Hotel Occupancy Taxes, which are collected and allocated for the promotion of “tourism and the convention and hotel industry.” Cities may levy up to a seven percent tax on hotel bills,…

Dr. Peter McCullough gave a groundbreaking testimony before the Texas Senate last Wednesday which was so powerful it made mainstream news nationwide. In his testimony he had blistering rebuke of the government’s response and directions regarding the Chinese Coronavirus, Here…

As conservatives know, government is an inherently greedy beast. It seizes every opportunity to grow and, in the words of Democrat Rahm Emanuel, it “never lets a good crisis go to waste.” However, in combating the natural trend of bureaucracy to…

Perhaps the most hotly debated bill of the session thus far is House Bill 3, a proposal by State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) to expand the executive authority of the governor during a pandemic. In a hearing over the legislation…

On Monday, State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), laid out Senate Bill 12 before the Senate State Affairs Committee which he chairs.  Authored by Hughes and several other Senate Republicans, SB 12 seeks to prevent tech from censoring conservatives in Texas….

State lawmakers should repeal the property tax levied on business personal property and inventory. Only eleven states other than Texas levy such a tax. Texas’ onerous property tax system requires that businesses pay taxes on both the land it occupies and its assets—including the inventory…

Following Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that he would be ending his statewide mandatory mask order next week, we at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility asked our subscribers and supporters how they would react to businesses requiring masks. Over a thousand Texans…

Over a decade ago, liberal lawmakers in the Texas Legislature from both parties came together and imposed an onerous tax on Texas’ businesses: the state’s franchise tax also known as the gross margins tax. Since its inception, this tedious tax…

Following the disastrous Texas blackout in February 2021, TFR created the following video explaining part of the problem and potential solutions to safeguarding the life, liberty, and property of everyday Texans.   While further reforms are most assuredly needed, action…