The old truism is that there are two certainties in life, death and taxes. I’d like to modify that slightly to death and government spending.  After all, government spending is why taxes exist. No spending, no taxes. But there is…

Overview Introduction ​Recently, the Texas Legislative Budget Board released the Fiscal Size-Up 2024-25 Biennium report with the latest estimated or budgeted amounts in the prior 2022-23 budget and the appropriated 2024-25 budget. The results from the 88th Texas Legislature’s efforts…

Texas families are facing an affordability crisis that is being exacerbated by property taxes: a never-ending tax that, fundamentally, serves as a form of perpetual rent to the government.  While the Legislature has taken steps recently to address the rising…

As we enter election season, many voters across the State of Texas are looking to find information about candidates and the voting records of their sitting elected officials, in order to make informed decisions at the ballot box.  Thankfully, Texans…

Texans are upset that their property tax relief is less than the Texas Legislature promised last year. While Texans for Fiscal Responsibility wrote about how we should expect this outcome, the reporting and claims about this relief were that it…

This commentary was originally published at The Center Square here. It is being republished with permission from the author. In 2023, Texas led the U.S. on many fronts: job growth, economic expansion, energy production, and a record surplus of $33 billion. This…

2023 was a year of legislative disappointments: mediocre property tax relief, wasteful spending, and fiscal irresponsibility; however, there was another egregious example of legislative impropriety that may have flown under the radar for some.  While you were struggling under the…

Explore a pivotal year in Texas politics, featuring a historic budget surplus, the largest spending increase, complex property tax cuts, corporate welfare debates, and the unresolved school choice saga. This comprehensive review sheds light on the major legislative decisions and their implications for the future of Texas.

After months of delay following Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s call for a financial audit of the effort to impeach and remove Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton this year, new revelations about the actual cost to taxpayers surfaced last week. These…

This commentary was originally published at The Center Square here. It is being republished with permission from the author. A record number of states have passed universal school choice so far this year, but it seems Texas won’t be among them. Given…

The Texas Legislature wrapped up the fourth special legislative session on Tuesday and one of the most contentious issues remained unresolved: school choice. Despite Governor Greg Abbott’s push, the proposal to allow for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) ultimately failed to…

With more than half of the special session already over, on Wednesday, the Texas House finally took up and considered four bills on the Floor for debate.  Two House bills and two Senate bills considered included: SB 7 by Senator…

We are now ten days into the third Special Session of the Texas Legislature. While school choice has been a focal point of the session thus far, another major area of concern is the ongoing border crisis and illegal immigration. …

The third special session of the year has officially started, with the Texas House and Texas Senate both convening this afternoon.  Tensions between the two chambers and members of leadership are high after a strained regular session, two special sessions,…

Rumors had abounded for months that Governor Abbott was going to call a third special session to address so-called “school choice.” The third special session of the year has officially been called by Governor Abbott, with the State Legislature to…