Many Texas politicians are claiming the proposed 2026-27 Texas budget is conservative. But the facts tell a different story. Examples of poor fiscal discipline in the proposed 2026-27 Texas budget include more than $50 billion of new state funds 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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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…

“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…

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…

Introduction The 2026–27 Texas proposed biennial budget should be rejected this week when brought to the House floor on Thursday, April 10th. This budget, and many before it over the last two decades since Republicans gained a trifecta in 2003,…

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…

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…

In a story that blends real estate interests, taxpayer dollars, political intrigue, and legislative sleight-of-hand, recent developments in the Texas House have raised serious concerns about the integrity of the state’s political process—particularly the blurred lines between public service, private…

Texans to Receive Only $6 Billion in Property Tax Relief New Spending Reduces Potential Tax Cuts Now and in the Future When the Texas Senate meets this week to debate and adopt the 2026-27 budget for the state of Texas,…