News

Vote Notices

Vote Notice 5.2.23

Texas Senate Subject: Property Tax Exemption at Expense of Other Taxpayers, Senate Joint Resolution 64 (SJR 64) Subject: Education Options for Child Victims of Sexual Grooming, Senate Bill 1557 (SB 1557) Subject: Anti-ESG, Senate Bill 2530 (SB 2530) Texas House…

Podcast - The Week Ahead

Episode 12: Are Texas Taxpayers About to Get Left Out in the Cold on Property Tax Relief?

Episode Description πŸ’° In our twelfth episode of π—§π—›π—˜ π—ͺπ—˜π—˜π—ž π—”π—›π—˜π—”π——, we discuss what is left to be done ahead of key deadlines in the Texas House, a recent misleading post by former President Donald Trump in relation to the…

Vote Notices

Vote Notice 5.1.23

Texas Senate Subject: Choice of Virtual School Classes, Senate Bill 1068 (SB 1068) Subject: Anti-Free Enterprise, Senate Bill 1268 (SB 1268) Subject: Taxpayer Money to Urban Farm MicroEnterprise Support Program, Senate Bill 1348 (SB 1348) Subject: Increasing Barriers to Entry…

Vote Notices

Vote Notice 4.28.23

Texas Senate None Texas House of Representatives Subject: Further Entrenching the Role of the State in Mental Health, House Bill 400 (HB 400) Subject: Limiting “No-Knock” Warrants, House Bill 504 (HB 504) Subject: Reforming Asset Forfeiture, House Bill 3659 (HB 3659) Subject: Scholarship Program…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 15: House Lawmakers Vote to Increase Their Own Pensions at Expense of Texas Taxpayers

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss Texas House lawmakers voting in favor of increasing their own pensions, at the further expense of Texas taxpayers. We also discuss the corporate welfare revival effort moving in the…

Bad Bill of the Week

Bad Bill of the Week – HB 1395 – Expanding the Texas Lottery

Legislation Referenced House Bill 1395 – State Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso) 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…

Vote Notices

Vote Notice 4.27.23

Texas Senate Subject: Rollback of Medical Regulation, Senate Bill 773 (SB 773) Subject: Property Tax Exemption at Expense of Other Taxpayers, Senate Bill 1145 (SB 1145) Subject: Increased Transparency in Corporate Welfare, Senate Bill 1419 (SB 1419) Subject: Hotel Occupancy…

Commentary

Texas Expanding Medicaid Coverage With Help From Republican Lawmakers

The state of Texas is one of only 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid after the passage of Obamacare. That is a good thing. Medicaid expansion is costly and does not provide timely access to quality care. If you…

Vote Notices

Vote Notice 4.26.23

Texas Senate Subject: Streamline Specific Restaurant Regulations, Senate Bill 577 (SB 577) Subject: Hotel Occupancy Tax for Allen Convention Center Hotel Project, Senate Bill 720 (SB 720) Subject: Protecting Parental Rights, Senate Bill 1072 (SB 1072) Texas House of Representatives…

Vote Notices

Vote Notice 4.25.23

Texas Senate Subject: Protecting Rights Under the Constitution, Senate Bill 242 (SB 242) Subject: Pro-Taxpayer, Senate Bill 369 (SB 369) Subject: Creation of a Grant Program, Senate Bill 462 (SB 462) Subject: Ensuring Optimal Choice in Government School System, Senate…

News88th TXLege

Corporate Welfare Revival Scheme Has the Votes in the Texas House

At the end of last week, several Texas House lawmakers signed on in support of the corporate welfare revival effort prioritized by Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), increasing the total amount of public supporters to a threshold that’s enough…

Podcast - The Week Ahead

Episode 11: Spending Out of Control, What HasΒ the Texas LegislatureΒ Done With the Budget Surplus?

Episode Description πŸ’° In our eleventh episode of π—§π—›π—˜ π—ͺπ—˜π—˜π—ž π—”π—›π—˜π—”π——, we discuss what the Texas Legislature is proposing to do with the budget surplus (over-collected taxpayer money), the budget proposal nearing the final stages of its consideration and the…

Research

What Happened to the Texas Budget Surplus?

Executive Summary A lot of people know about Texas’ $32.7 billion budget surplus. What most don’t know is that the Texas Legislature has $78.4 billion more in state funds to spend this year than it spent in 2021 and that…

Vote Notices

Vote Notice 4.24.23

Texas Senate Subject: Election Integrity, Senate Bill 397 (SB 397) Subject: Removing Barriers to Work, Senate Bill 1615 (SB 1615) Texas House of Representatives Subject: Expanding Homestead Exemption Qualifiers, House Joint Resolution 150 (HJR 150) Subject: Expanding Homestead Exemption Qualifiers,…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 14: The Legislative Clock Starts Ticking on Priorities

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss what the ongoing Texas legislative session looks like now that we are 100 days into the 140-day session. We specifically talk about things like property tax relief efforts, corporate…