Today, on the first day of the 89th Legislative Session, TFR sent the following message to members of the Texas Legislature congratulating them on their election and informing them about the Fiscal Responsibility Index:

Dear State Senator or State Representative, 

Congratulations on your election to the Texas Legislature! 

Regardless of whether you are Republican or Democrat, a returning lawmaker or newly-elected, please know we earnestly appreciate the sacrifice you’ve made to serve your fellow Texans.

As you’re likely already aware, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility is an independent, educational non-profit organization seeking to illuminate the actions of government, educate and equip citizens to effectively advocate for pro-taxpayer and pro-family reforms, and hold lawmakers accountable for their actions. 

For nearly 20 years (and nine sessions) we’ve produced the Fiscal Responsibility Index, a tool we use to measure legislators’ commitment to fiscal responsibility and limited government. 

Though legislators take thousands of votes during the session, only a small percentage of them highlight this commitment. We narrow the votes down to about 100 for which we believe there was a clear choice between limited and bloated government.

As we have done in the past, ratings will be calculated based on the votes actually taken by each member. Any vote changes after sine die will not be honored. Absences will be noted, but will not positively or negatively affect the rating.

In both chambers, slight weighting may be given to budget amendments and tax-related votes. Authoring and co-authoring legislation in support of our legislative priorities that receive an up-or-down vote on the floor may be positively included in the rating as extra credit. Note: You must be signed on as a co-author before the bill filing deadline to receive any possible extra credit. A copy of our legislative priorities is enclosed for reference. We reserve the right to determine which legislation, if any, constitutes fulfilling a TFR legislative priority.

You, your staff, and everyday Texans can subscribe to email alerts and view our full list of notices of upcoming votes under consideration for the Index at https://www.texastaxpayers.com

At the end of the session, we’ll tabulate your score based on one thing and one thing alone: your voting record. We’ll then communicate it—good or bad— to your constituents.

While no “scorecard” tells the whole story about a legislator, we’ve found citizens across Texas appreciate our method of cutting through the clutter and presenting how their lawmaker voted on key issues in a manageable way where they are free to agree (or disagree) with our view.

Thank you again for stepping forward to serve the citizens of our great state.

For Texas!

Andrew McVeigh 

President & CEO, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility

Texans for Fiscal Responsibility relies on the support of private donors across the Lone Star State in order to promote fiscal responsibility and pro-taxpayer government in Texas. Please consider supporting our efforts! Thank you!

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