by Bill Peacock | Feb 10, 2026 | Research
Over the last decade, the state of Texas has experienced unprecedented budget surpluses. These budget surpluses are state tax revenue that exceeds the normal needs of the state. Put another way, the people were “over-taxed.” Covering six legislative sessions since...
by Bill Peacock | Feb 6, 2026 | Research
In a previous paper1 examining the growth of Texas government over the last 10 years, we’ve seen that appropriations of Texas taxpayer funds increased by $110 billion, or 78%, during that time. Have you ever wondered what the Legislature did with all that money it...
by Bill Peacock | Feb 4, 2026 | Research
One of the most persistent lies in Texas politics is that Texas schools are “underfunded.”1 This lie takes many different forms. We’ll examine some of those below. First, though, let’s take a look at the growth in Texas spending on public schools over the last...
by Bill Peacock | Jan 26, 2026 | Research
New Data Shows Billions of Dollars in New Debt is Being Approved By a Tiny Fraction of the Population Executive Summary New data from the Texas Bond Review Board1 (BRB), required by HB 3526 passed by the Texas Legislature this year, shows disturbing trends in Texas...
by Bill Peacock | Jan 23, 2026 | Research
One saying that circulates around the Texas Capitol when the Legislature convenes every two years is that the legislators have only one job they are required to do: adopt a budget. Every legislative session the legislators manage to do this. In fact, the...
