Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying: Texas Senate Faces Redemption Moment with SB 12 Votes
The Texas Senate is set to deliberate and vote on Senate Bill 12 (SB 12) during the current special session, a pivotal measure introduced by State Senator Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying by local governments. This bill follows Senate Bill...
The Path to Real Property Tax Relief: Stopping Local Government Revenue Growth
Executive Summary Texas’ political leaders claim they will spend $51 billion (of taxpayer money) the next two years on public schools to provide property tax relief to homeowners, small businesses, and other landowners. Yet over the last six years of legislative...
Lobbying on the Taxpayer’s Dime
On July 21, 2025, State Senator Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) introduced Senate Bill 12, a measure to outlaw taxpayer-funded lobbying. If signed into law, SB 12 would mark a major victory for Texas taxpayers, targeting the unjust practice of governments using public...
Local Overspending Undermines Property Tax Relief—Texas Needs a Strong Local Spending Limit
Overview Despite historic efforts to deliver property tax relief by the Legislature, Texans continue to face rising property tax bills. Why? While the state has reduced school district M&O property tax rates and increased the Homestead exemption, cities,...
CPS Energy Needs to Pay its Winter Storm Uri Debt
This article originally appeared in the San Antonio Express-News here. It is being reposted with permission of the author. As Texas continues to reel from the fatal floods in the Hill Country, we are reminded of past natural disasters that Texas has endured and of...