UPDATE: Senator Robert Nichols (R – Jacksonville) announced a change to the proposal. The new proposal, which requires a constitutional amendment, would dedicate 50 percent of the revenue from the
This week, I testified in front of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Article II on their respective starting-point budget proposals for DFPS. This testimony comes
On January 27, Senate Finance Chair Jane Nelson (R – Flower Mound) introduced SB 2, the Senate’s starting-point 2016-17 Texas budget. Two weeks earlier, the Speaker of the House of
Imagine looking at your paycheck and knowing it’s not enough money to pay the rent on time or buy groceries for your family. Unfortunately, too many hard-working Texans face this
Today the Senate Finance Committee heard testimony on the importance of investing in public education. When District Court Judge John Dietz found Texas’ school finance system to be unconstitutional last year,
Pre-Kindergarten has already proven to be a hot issue this legislative session, and this week Representatives Eric Johnson (D-Dallas) and Marsha Farney (R-Georgetown) released a noteworthy Pre-K reform proposal. The
On January 12, new Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar will issue the revenue estimate for the 2016-17 budget cycle, as well as update legislators on 2014-15 state revenue collections. Perenially missing
The Joint Select Committee to Study the Balance of the Economic Stabilization Fund – commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund – met briefly this morning and adopted a $7
On Thursday the House Appropriations committee heard from the Legislative Budget Board and the Comptroller of Public Accounts on state budget, economic, and revenue developments affecting the 2014-15 and 2016-17
With President Obama expected to announce executive action to address the enforcement of immigration policy, I wanted to highlight our recent report, Immigrants Drive the Texas Economy. There are more than