Thanks to the effort of a number of conservatives in the Texas House, a number of anti-taxpayer rule proposals were defeated. However, a majority of lawmakers unfortunately prevented many positive changes from being adopted on the floor. On Thursday Texas House lawmakers passed HR 4, a resolution establishing their rules for the 87th Texas Legislature….
Month: January 2021
TFR Voter Alerts
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 the legislative session, and then measure its outcomes. Pending-Vote Announcements These votes are eligible…
House Rule Changes Would Do Disservice to Taxpayers
As the Texas House looks to continue to organize in preparation of doing the work of the 87th Texas Legislature, lawmakers are set to consider an updated rules package that would reduce transparency and limit individual lawmaker’s ability to affect legislation that comes to the floor for a vote. As noted by the Texas Scorecard‘s Brandon…
A Letter to Legislators
After lawmakers were sworn in, TFR sent the following message to every member of the Texas Legislature congratulating them on their election and informing them about the Fiscal Responsibility Index. Dear Legislator, Congratulations on your election to the Texas Legislature! Regardless of whether you are Republican or Democrat, a returning lawmaker or a newly-elected legislator,…
Texas Comptroller Estimates Revenue Shortfall
Texas lawmakers will need to find roughly $1 billion in budget cuts for the current biennium and pare down expectations for the upcoming budget after new estimates were released by the state comptroller Monday. In a livestreamed press conference, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released a new revenue estimate projecting the state to have a serious…