At an interim hearing this week in McAllen, Texas school districts and colleges demanded yet more tax money. The tag team approach may have backfired though, as South Texas College justified their request on the grounds that two-thirds of their students need remedial classes. What does that say about the job the school districts are doing? Read More»

Seriously, way to go TxDOT. Sure, you guys miscounted $1 billion. You've said you cannot build roads again because you're broke. But, hey, you did just win 15 excellence in advertising awards! Read More»

No sooner had our weekly e-mail newsletter left the servers than word arrived that Houston attorney Grant Harpold is making plans to run for Senate District 17. That seat will be open because of Dr. Kyle Janek's expected resignation in the next several weeks. Read More»

So the Democrats line with the state's projected surplus is they support giving our money back “when we can afford to." If that line sounds disturbingly familiar, it’s probably because our Republican Lt. Governor, David Dewhurst, was singing that song back in 2007. Read More»

Year after year, the State of Texas has produced budget surpluses – more money than government needs. Most egregiously, the state had a $14.3 billion surplus in 2007; a chunk of it was spent on bigger government, and chunk was put in an unsecured “tax relief” account that – trust them – the legislature will give back to us some day as property tax relief (no guarantees, though). Now comes word that Texas could have another $15 billion surplus in 2009. Governor Perry is making a politically unusual (if economically correct) call: give the money back to the people. Read More»

Facing a $16 million budget deficit, Vallejo, California, is filing for bankruptcy. It seems for way too long the inmates have been running the asylum. Or, rather, the "public safety" unions have been draining the city coffers dry. Nearly 75 percent of the city budget goes to "public safety" salaries alone. The city cannot afford and the unions are refusing to negotiate. So their only recourse is bankruptcy. The people of Southlake, Texas, should take note: they will soon be voting to allow their police to unionize which could cost them an additional $10,000 per employee without. And that's just for now. Southlake, meet Vallejo.

"Are the Republicans crazy?," asks Houston's Steven Hotze in a commentary this week. Not a bad question to ask, considering the growing outcry from small-business owners around the state as they see the impact of Texas' new business tax taking effect. Read More»

An age-old practice in the Texas House is finally being exposed to sunlight, and the practioners are scrambling to defend themselves. Like johns caught in a prostitution sting, legislators who've been putting political cronies on the payroll for lucrative public benefits are defending themselves with the age-old excuse that they were just engaged in an age-old practice. Fortunately, House Speaker Tom Craddick and House General Investigating and Ethics Committee chairman Larry Phillips are promising quick reform. Read More»

Many business are bracing for the worst when they file their new gross margins tax report on June 15. Consider Mesquite-based Alco Glass, which reported a loss of $18,000 in 2007, but will owe $6,000 in margin taxes, which will require them to take out a loan. All told, the business tax is expected to forcibly transfer 6.1 billion from the private sector into government coffers. Read More»

Not too long ago the Texas Department of Transportation said it didn’t have enough money to build roads. Plum out of cash. But now comes word from Dallas that TxDOT is spending $20 million to build a 5-acre park. That’s better be one heck of park. And, by the way, the federal government is making them do it. Read More»

Unions are unions, whatever they call themselves and whatever their industry. While they might have once served a legitimate function, unions today are drains on our economy and every sector of endeavor. Government is no different. In the Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, the police are trying to unionize (they call it implementing "civil service" rules), which requires a public vote this month. Not only will public service not improve, but for the pleasure of turning the police into union thugs, taxpayers will shell out an additional $10,000 per officer. Read More»

Conservatives in Texas are fed up with out of control property taxes, spending that's going through the roof, and a new business tax created to satiate the demands of growing government. Read More»

If there's such a thing as a one-man think-tank, Austen Furse might qualify. He's a reliable conservative and excellent businessman with political credentials stretching from Matagorda County to the White House. He's also the only person to have now publically declared himself as a candidate for the soon-to-be-vacant Senate District 17 seat. Read More»

Republicans seeking to make substantive policy reforms face as their chief obstacle, all too often, Republican elected officials. These "Republicans" like to say they believe in fiscal restraint and local control – just not when it stands in the way of spending your money. The only restraint they favor tends to be in the form of keeping taxpayers from interfering with spending increases. This makes something of an inconvenience of the 92% of Republican voters who supported a ballot question calling for strict spending limits. Read More»

Breathlessly reported by the Austin American Statesman is a report showing that -- gasp -- health insurance premiums rates have risen 39.7 percent since 2001. Of course, state government has grown more than 30 percent since '01 but the Statesman doesn't seem bugged by that. Read More»

Edgewood ISD announced this week they are cutting as many as 12 central office positions, though the district says they have 92 more than needed. Other Texas districts should follow - consider that Dallas and Houston ISDs have about 3,000 central office staff while the Catholic school systems in New York and Chicago, each with 100,000 plus students, have between 22 and 28. Read More»

A special House committee was formed this week to address the state's out-of-control property taxes. House Speaker Tom Craddick appointed some of the Legislature's strongest fiscal conservatives to the committee. Read More»

At a time of record foreclosures and declining home values, someone forgot to tell the Travis County appraiser. Values were posted minutes ago and my home rose a whopping 19.3%, sending my school property tax cut up in smoldering flames. However, values are up 31% in Lago Vista.

If you own a home in Travis County, check your value at: Read More»

At least Susan Combs is paying attention to the needs of the state's economy. With businesses struggling to understand, let alone pay, the confusingly complex new business tax, Comptroller Combs announced she’s giving everyone an extra month to make sense of what her office called “the complexity” of the new tax. That the new tax isn’t needed, and shouldn’t have been implemented to begin with, just adds gross insult to very real injury. Read More»

Isn't it funny that the Dallas Morning News keeps trying to raise sales taxes to fund more mass transit boondoggles, and yet they and their cronies in the newspaper industry lobby against efforts to tax their product? Read More»

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Dallas) today called for increasing both the state and federal gas tax, citing a lack of transportation funds. Yet 43% of the state gas tax is being diverted to non-transportation items and an increasing share of federal gas tax revenues are going to rail schemes that move few people for big bucks and even recreational paths. Read More»

Even we have trouble keeping up with all the different taxes and fees and today we learned that a 2001 law passed by the Legislature allows Texas cities to impose property taxes on leased cars. The Galveston Daily News reports that League City collects $243 per year on a car appraised at $40,000, but that they may repeal the tax at tomorrow's Council meeting. Read More»

Too many politicians, including those claiming to be conservatives, try to impress taxpayers with the increased activity of government. Conservative activist Chuck Ellis recently commented on the big-spending ways of his local government officials, but the same could be said of lawmakers up and down the political food chain. Read More»

Not only did the Empower Texans PAC help elect conservative Ralph Sheffield and defeat Martha "the Taxer" Tyroch, but we turned the spotlight on unchecked spending that allowed Tyroch to frivolously waste taxpayer dollars on fancy hotel suites, gifts and booze. Now, thanks to our work (and her excess), the Temple City Council is looking to change their policies. This welcome news for taxpayers in Bell County... And should be replicated around the state. Read More»

Kudos to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) who introduced legislation earlier this week to enhance taxpayers’ access to federal spending records and earmark information. Read More»

State Rep. Hubert Vo (D-Houston) appears to be a slumlord with a fancy title. Now, thanks to Empower Texans, he has a theme song and a video. Read More»

The Tyler Morning Paper published an editorial today that rings true both literally and as a figure of speech. Read More»

Businesses around the state are only now learning how much they are going to have to fork over to Austin under the new business tax -- which is due one month from today. The picture isn’t pretty and the results could be disastrous; which translates into lost jobs. Read More»

Soon-to-be-former State Rep. Borris Miles has been indicted on charges of "deadly conduct" according to the Houston Chronicle. This is the fine fellow who waved a gun at a party he wasn't invited to, kissed another man's wife without permission, and generally has been behaving in a thuggish manner. Boris makes fellow Houston Democrat Hubert Vo look like an upstanding citizen! Read More»

No one wants to be called a slumlord; bad for business. It's worse when it's the local paper. And it's disastrous when said slumlord is a state representative. Of course, since Hubert Vo's voting record is as ramshackle as the properties he owns, let's hope voters choose to evict him in November. Read More»

Last session the Legislature passed a law requiring all fire hydrants with a flow of less than 250 gallons per minute be painted black to avoid hook-ups to inoperative hydrants, but now the Green Valley Special Utility District has decided to paint all of its hydrants black because it cannot guarantee this flow level, even citing the possibility of a terrorist attack that could make it liable for Read More»

How much planning can you do with $1.7 million? And does any of it matter? The Texas Planning Assistance Grant Program is giving away that much of your money to 19 local "councils of government." What is a council of government? They allegedly exist to facilitate intergovernmental cooperation and planning. What do they do? Spend your money. Read More»

Liberals are always looking for anything they can dress up as "facts" to fit the left-wing social-engineering schemes they've been promoting for decades. No different is a "study" released by two leftist activist groups that claims Texas has one of the worst "income gaps" in the nation... And their solution to close the gap is to kill the economy. Are there poor in Texas? Someone once said there will always be poor among us. But in Texas, the poor have great opportunities to be poor no more. Read More»

Earlier this week we introduced Matt Shaheen, a strong conservative running for county commissioner in Collin County. He makes a persuasive case for why conservatives must be involved in local government. He made the case so well that he defeated an incumbent. Read More»

8 Term State Representative G.E. Buddy West was soundly defeated tonight by retired District Judge Tryon Lewis. What's even more breathtaking is that Judge lewis completely reversed the percentage of voters in 2 of the 3 counties that make up HD 81 (approx. 68% - 32%). In fact Judge Lewis skyrocketed his returns in Winkler County defeating the incumbent by a very healthy 83% - 17%. Read More»

Bryan Daniel won election in House District 52, seat made vacant by the retiring Mike Krusee in Williamson County. Daniel presented a clear message and was strongly supported by a coalition of conservatives. Congratulations!

Ken Legler beat Fred Roberts in the HD 144 race. Legler ran a strong campaign based on conservative solutions to pressing policy questions. Congratulations on a well run race!

In the hotly contested race to replace retiring representative Dianne Delisi, (Representative of Bell County and H.D. 55 for 9 terms) Ralph Sheffield has emerged victorious.

Mr. Sheffield captured a convincing share of the vote total to beat big taxing and spending Temple council woman Martha Tyroch.

Congratulations.

Congratulations to Tryon Lewis -- retired state district judge -- in House District 81's primary runoff election. With all 47 precincts reporting Judge Lewis has captured 75 percent of the vote.

Michael and I, having just traveled to Odessa yesterday, could not be happier with that kind of support for the true fiscal conservative in HD 81.

The Harris County Appraisal District has just released its 2008 home values and KHOU reports "the Harris County Appraisal District says most homes there increased in value, even though the Houston Association of Realtors says they're selling for 1.7 percent less." This inequity demonstrates once against that most of the promised state property tax relief is being offset by higher appraisals. Read More»

Apparently it’s okay to charge $4 for a mediocre cup of coffee, but the very free market system that allows it cannot be discussed or praised. David Boaz of the Cato Institute, writing in the Wall Street Journal, notes that Starbucks will let you personalize a gift card (for $5) with any phrase… But should a phrase have a hint of right-leaning politics, they grind it up. Read More»

So while Texas' ranking senator may have voted against earmark reform, she has been out working to make permanent the tax cuts passed by Congress several years ago. That's good news, even if it does paint a complicated picture of Kay Bailey Hutchison as taxpayers and voters look ahead to a possible 2010 gubernatorial match-up. Read More»

The Lubbock City Council has just approved an engineering contract for a new $6.7 million visitors center in the city's "Depot District." Opponents had urged that the monies be used for streets, parks, or civic center renovations. Read More»

Rarely is a verbal response to a budget surplus seen that tickles my fancy, so when it happens, there are little tingles in my arm hair.

"Cut our taxes and give it back. Don't just waste it on junk. Just like when they need more money they raise taxes, when they have extra they should give it back."
- Upper Valley homeowner Farzad Malekzadeh

Amen brother. Read More»

A state study shows that hooking Texas' major cities up to the new "wind farms" could exceed $6 billion -- that's more than $260 for every man, woman and child. The cheapest option would set still Texans back $3 billion. Read More»

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has a great commentary out addressing congress' historic-low ratings. He lays the blame squarely on lawmakers' inability to control themselves fiscally. He specifically highlights the failure of the U.S. Senate to pass earmark reform legislation. While he doesn't say it, one obstacle is the other senator from Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison. Read More»

In the world of marketing, its not unusual to pay celebrities to endorse your product. Does anyone think Tiger Woods is advertising those razors for free? Apparently marketing-exec-turn-state-rep-candidate Angie Chen Button decided to try it in her election bid. So she quietly put a Garland City Councilman, Larry Jeffus, on her campaign payroll, and has him wander HD 112 criticizing her opponent, Randy Dunning... Larry neglects to mention his fiduciary relationship with Angie. He's received nearly $40,000 for four months of "work" -- not a bad gig. But wait, there's more. Read More»

Citizens Against Government Waste has just released their annual PIG Book cataloging Congress' waste of tax dollars. It shows there were 11,610 pork projects approved this past year at a cost of $17.2 billion. Among them: $3 million for First Tee, a character-building golfing program, $1.9 million for the Charles Rangel Center for Public Service and $742,764 to fund olive fruit fly research. Read More»

Lawmakers have only recently come under fire for a decades-old practice in the Texas House: ghost voting. This is where someone votes for an absent colleague. It often happens with the consent of the absent (but not always), and usually in the manner the member would have voted (though sometimes not) -- but that doesn't necessarily make the practice palatable. Read More»

Last Sunday a group of friends and I from Young Conservatives of Texas went up to Belton to walk precincts and meet voters for Ralph Sheffield's campaign. Ralph is a great guy. He's the owner of a mexian food restaurant called Las Casas in Temple (Go and try the "White Wings"). Read More»

Martha Tyroch, a candidate for State Representative in HD55, has a disturbing pattern of charging taxpayers for luxury accomodations and lavish dinners. Read More»

We hosted a live conference call last night for folks in House District 81 -- and some 2,500 took part in the call to ask questions of fiscal conservative Tryon Lewis, who the Empower Texans PAC has endorsed in the run-off. Read More»

Taxpayer hero Jodie Laubenberg has come out strongly supporting Randy Dunning in the run-off race for House District 112 in Richardson and Garland. Why is she supporting Dunning? Read More»

Did you know cities are required to post signs telling you red-light cameras are in effect at an intersection? And without the signs, they cannot collect a fine? We chatted this week with State Rep. Bill Callegari, who passed the law and is bothered by the lack of compliance around the state. Read More»

The Center for Responsive Politics has a new bracket comparing the Sweet 16 universities by their federal lobbying expenditures. By this measure, UCLA ($560k) will play UNC ($31Ok) in the Finals - UT-Austin at $200k would be on the sidelines. The bracket is at: http://www.capitaleye.org/img/lobbying_16.gif.

One of the strongest voices for fiscal conservativism, and commonsense governance, is Steve Moore. He founded the Club for Growth, and now serves as senior economics writer at the Wall Street Journal, and a writer on the vaunted editorial page. Read More»

Hot air has arrived before summer, as the City of Austin has paid $20,000 in public funds for a survey of the public on global warming, which asks questions such as "whether you will be affected by climate change." It also asks respondents to say what the difference is between "global warming" and "climate change." Read More»

It is possible for a city to spend half-a-billion dollars over 25 years for an as-yet unbuilt facility. Just ask the Austin City Council, which seems intent on doing just that. In the mid-1980s, the city planned to spend $165 million to build a water treatment plant. So far they’ve expended $96 million without even construction plans anywhere close to finished, and the project cost has nearly tripled. apparently keeping Austin weird means making taxpayer broke. Read More»

Yesterday I had the privilidge of speaking in Collin County at an event hosted by the chambers of commerce. The real treat, though, was getting to hear County Judge Keith Self address economic policy and fiscal reform. We'll have more on him in the coming days, but you might want to check out his website: www.keithself.com. Texas needs more county judges, and elected officials in general, like Keith Self.

It's a delicious irony: Texas' taxpayers are being forced to fork over $250,000 to "invest" in a miracle drug that will allegedly combat obesity. Sound like more high-calorie pork? It'd be cheaper to tell the lard-laden to put the candy-bar down and go for a brisk walk. Read More»

It's not just hot-air created by global warming proponents. Now they want your job and family income, too. Read More»

A Houston television report has revealed that the list of fees imposed by Texas state government spans some 85 pages. The story notes that Governor Rick Perry and Rep. Mark Strama will work for legislation next session to ensure that these fees are either used for their intended purpose or abolished. Read More»

Taxpayers have been picking up the tab for processing paycheck deductions to fund a liberal union’s political activities. Sound rotten? That’s why taxpayer hero Leo Berman is asking the Texas Attorney General to review the process. Read More»

West Texans probably felt their wallets being picked this week, as government-growers and tax-hikers went to Odessa in an effort to prop up the frail candidacy of Buddy West in a Republican run-off. West got kudos from anti-taxpayer lawmakers like Delwin Jones of Lubbock, Jim Pitts of Waxahachie, Jim Keffer of Eastland, and Edmund Kuempel of Seguin. Five Republicans, and not a fiscal conservative in their midst. Read More»

Austin Police have been wrongly spending money seized during the course of investigations – violating state and federal laws governing the way those dollars can be used. Who called in the budget cops? Austin’s own chief of police. Read More»

State Rep. Herbert Vo is being accused of accepting illegal corporate campaign contributions. The Democratic state representative from Houston allegedly got a company to offer discount coupons on clothes when someone gave money to his campaign. Right about now Mr. Vo should be looking for a "15% off your next legal bill" coupon. Read More»

The Empower Texans PAC today announced its enthusiastic endorsement of Tryon Lewis in the run-off race for House District 81. Read More»

Red-Light cameras are all the rage among cool cities with big budgets, using hi-tech to nab drivers who illegally coast (or fly) through intersections. Critics have maintained the cameras violate civil liberties and amount to a cash-grab by cities. Proponents tell us the cities install the cameras for the singular purpose of saving lives. Read More»

Serving in the Texas Legislature is no picnic; lawmakers get $600, with the responsibility for governing a state that is the 8th largest economy in the world and nearly 24 million people. And it is done for less pay and perks that most city's offer their councilmen. While this isn't a call to raise their pay, we should at least remember to ocassionally say, "thank you." Read More»

While most Texans are struggling to keep up, the state reported today that cities are reaping a 9.2% increase in sales tax collecitions over last year. Even as inflation plagues Texas families, it produces more sales tax revenue so maybe local governments should return some of this windfall. Read More»