I have to tell you that I’m enjoying this session where Texas Republicans do not have the boogeyman, Joe Straus, to blame for their failures. And it is especially enjoyable to say “I told you so” about Republican Party of Texas Chair James Dickey.
First, from Mr. Dickey’s email this afternoon:
Dear Fellow Texas Republican,
Texas’ 86th Legislative Session is in full swing. There are many pieces of legislation our Republican Legislators have filed and are working diligently to pass which will benefit Texans. The most foundational of those is the budget, passed out of the House as Texas House Bill 1 (HB 1).
HB 1’s expenses are a meaningful increase, yet are set at approximately $2.7 billion below the Texas Comptroller’s annual revenue estimate of $119.12 billion.
For more details see the information provided by Representative James White on where the money is going and why.
The Texas House also established an amendment which ensures a minimum for tax relief at $2.7 billion. I am confident they are working on and will be able to do much more – and that they know it is critical we provide Texans with the highest possible property tax relief.
We appreciate our legislators’ work to ensure Texas’ unparalleled success continues while respecting the needs of our taxpayers. We look forward to working with Republican elected officials as they lead the way to a brighter future for all Texans.
For Texas,
James Dickey
Chairman, Republican Party of Texas
Now, let’s hear from this morning’s Texas Minute, courtesy of Michael Quinn Sullivan of Empower Texans:
Good morning,
This week will reveal whether or not the Texas Senate – including your own Larry Taylor – will prioritize property tax relief, or join the irresponsible spending spree started by the Texas House.
Meanwhile, some Texas House Republicans are proposing a new way to drain money from your wallet and hope you’ll think it is a tax cut – despite the big pile of (your) money they have sitting in surplus.
Yes, I’m serious.
Here is today’s Texas Minute.
– Michael Quinn Sullivan
• Two weeks ago the Texas House adopted a bloated budget growing state government by 16 percent over the next two years. That’s more than double population growth and the rate of inflation.
• Despite a $9 billion budget surplus, the House budget provided no mechanism for offering the substantive property tax relief – a real, lasting property tax cut – that Texans deserve.
• Merely slowing down how fast the burden grows doesn’t count. It is not a victory to claim your property tax burden isn’t climbing as fast as it might have been.
• Every member of the Texas House voted to grow government rather than fight for meaningful, lasting property tax relief. The conservative grassroots have found themselves to be without a coherent voice of fiscal sanity in the Texas House.
• Tomorrow, it will be up to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Texas Senate to be that voice. Will they go along with the House’s bloated budget or will they give real, meaningful, and lasting property tax relief?
• It is up to the Senate to fight for, and deliver on, the long-standing promise of property tax relief that Republicans have campaigned on for two decades without success.
• So what will your state senator do tomorrow? Don’t guess! Call Larry Taylor today and find out at (512) 463-0111.
Some facts about the kind of budget they should adopt…
• The budget should live within the limits of the Texas Conservative Budget Coalition. That means the state budget should either be cut, or grow less than 8 percent (the combined rate of population growth and inflation). And not a penny more.
• Emergency spending on one-time items related to Hurricane Harvey relief doesn’t count against the limit. Neither does tax relief.
• The Senate should allocate the majority of the state’s $9 billion surplus to property tax relief. (Yes, $9 billion is a big pile of money… and, yes, they should give it back to you!)
What makes this really funny to me is that last week, I ran into a couple of State Republican Executive Committee members that were touting their perspective on Dickey finally representing the Republican Party of Texas platform. Last I looked, doubling the rate of inflation/population growth for the state budget wasn’t a part of the platform.
But hey, it’s a meaningful increase but under the estimated revenue that the comptroller predicts.
LOL. I told you so. 😉
For extra credit, you should read this: WHY ARE TEXAS REPUBLICANS ACTING LIKE DEMOCRATS?