Double Dipping Stan? Why Is a Sitting State Lawmaker Acting as a Drainage District “General Manager” for a Taxpayer Funded Entity?
Texas House members are not allowed to hold another paid public office. Yet, State Rep. Stan Kitzman1 (R-Brookshire) appears to be doing exactly that. Stan Kitzman the General Manager? Documents obtained by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility show that Kitzman,...
Ken King: Failing Texas Taxpayers for over a Decade
Texas State Representative Ken King, a Republican from Canadian, Texas, has represented House District 88 since 2013. Over seven regular legislative sessions, King has positioned himself as a conservative representing Panhandle and South Plains values. However, a...
A Decade of Government Growth: State Budget Surpluses
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...
A Decade of Government Growth: Corporate Welfare
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...
A Decade of Government Growth: Public School Spending
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...