AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following statement on the passage of Senate Bill 1:

“The passage of SB 1 marks an unwelcome departure from the guiding principles of fiscal responsibility,” said Executive Director Arlene Wohlgemuth, “The Lone Star State’s pressing needs in the coming biennium were – and remain – affordable within the existing General Revenue estimate of $95 billion. Unfortunately, this budget goes much beyond that.”

“SB 1 is a laundry list of missed opportunities, from a tax cut that’s only half the Governor’s target, to a spending hike that far exceeds population plus inflation,” said Center for Fiscal Policy Director Talmadge Heflin, “Particularly troubling is the decision to tap into the state’s Economic Stabilization Fund for $4 billion.

“When combined with the proposed raid on the Economic Stabilization Fund from HB 1025 and the first supplemental spending bill, HB 10, Texas is now spending 26 percent more than last session,” said Vice President for Policy Chuck DeVore, “Texans ought to be concerned about traveling down the road of unsustainably high government spending, dealing a blow to the prosperity that has sustained our homes and communities as the rest of the nation has suffered the worst economic times since the Great Depression.”

 

The Honorable Arlene Wohlgemuth is the executive director and director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She served 10 years in the Texas House of Representatives, specializing in health care issues.

The Honorable Talmadge Heflin is Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Heflin served 11 terms in the Texas House of Representatives and chaired the House Appropriations Committee in 2003, leading the Texas Legislature’s successful efforts to close a $10 billion budget deficit without a tax increase.

The Honorable Chuck DeVore is the Vice President for Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He served six years in the California Assembly and is the author of “The Texas Model: Prosperity in the Lone Star State and Lessons for America.”

The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.

 

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