This commentary was originally published at The Center Square here. It is being republished with permission from the author. The Texas Legislature just found out it has a huge opportunity to correct its profligate spending failures made earlier this year. But instead,…

Texas has been a leader in job creation. But Texas faces major headwinds as this year’s 88th Legislature has looked more like California than what Texans expect. There is a better way. Free-market capitalism is the best path to let…

Recently, Truth in Accounting (TIA), a fiscal watchdog organization, published a report titled “Financial State of the States 2023” shedding light on the perceived fiscal health of all 50 states in the United States based on key factors. According to…

The race to fill the vacant seat for Texas House District 2 is underway, with the special election now less than a month out.  One candidate, Jill Dutton, has thrown her hat into the ring, hoping that Voters in HD-2…

The State’s metaphorical piggy bank continues to fill up with surplus dollars from your wallet, says the Texas Comptroller.  Last Friday, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the Certification Revenue Estimate(CRE) for the fiscal 2024-25 biennium. The CRE revises estimates from…

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is again promoting what could be universal school choice during the third special session in Texas that starts on Oct. 9th. That would be among the best actions Texas can make, the other being eliminating…

In recent developments, the budgetary decisions and the political maneuvering in the U.S. Congress have taken an unforeseen turn, spotlighting the fiscal discourse that underpins our nation’s governance. The passage of the stopgap resolution, a temporary measure to prevent a…

Texas politicians had a choice to make this spring. With a record $80 billion of new revenue available, they could either spend the money or give it back to Texas taxpayers in the form of property tax relief. Unfortunately for…

Today, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) requesting that he immediately call a third special legislative session, to address a host of pressing issues affecting all Texas taxpayers and families.  It is already…

After this exciting weekend, there is no doubt that you have heard that the Texas House Board of Managers’ attempt to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has failed. On Saturday Paxton was acquitted on all charges and able to…

With the Federal Government’s fiscal year rapidly coming to an end on September 30th, Congress must pass a “continuing resolution,” on spending, or once again face a partial government shutdown. This continuing resolution is essentially a temporary spending bill, using…

$33 trillion. Written another way, $33,000,000,000,000. The U.S. National Debt is estimated to surpass $33 trillion in a matter of days. Sadly, milestones like these seem to have become all too regular. Just one year ago I wrote a similar…

Every year in August and September, Local Governments across the Lone Star State set about the task of proposing and then adopting their tax rates and budgets for the next year. Last month, TFR reminded Texas taxpayers about the impending…

Earlier this month, TFR reminded Texas Taxpayers that the time of local budget setting and property tax rate adoptions was rapidly approaching.  Now, just a few weeks later, many major cities and counties across the Lone Star State have put…

Overview Debt A recent report by the Texas Bond Review Board notes that Texas’ total outstanding local government debt is $280 billion, resulting in debt per capita of $8,869. This puts Texas’ local debt per capita in third place of…