AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation today released a paper by Center for Fiscal Policy Economist Dr. Vance Ginn and Vice President of Research and Center for Economic Freedom Director Bill Peacock entitled, The 2016-17 Texas Budget: It’s Not a Conservative Texas Budget Yet. The paper examines both the House and Senate budgets and outlines recommendations for a real conservative budget that would ensure long-term economic growth and security.
"The Senate and House versions of the 2016-17 budget are on their way to benefitting Texans by being a conservative budget," said Ginn. "This can be achieved by legislators holding state funds and all funds spending below population growth plus inflation of 6.5 percent. Texans will benefit further from a broad spending limit that keeps increases in the budget to less than the lower of population growth plus inflation, personal income growth, or gross state product growth."
“It is impossible to overstate the importance of the debate between the Senate and House over the historic tax relief packages,” said TPPF Center for Fiscal Policy Director Talmadge Heflin. “Whatever the tax relief structure, Texans should see their taxes reduced by somewhere between $4 billion to $5 billion. When this is the primary debate during a legislative session, taxpayers will come out winners. However, Texas still needs to make progress towards reducing the growth of state government. The best way to address this in the long run is by reforming the state’s tax and expenditure limitation.”
To read the full report, visit: http://txpo.li/2016-17-texas-budget
Bill Peacock is vice president of research and director of the Center for Economic Freedom at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Vance Ginn, Ph.D. is an Economist in the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Honorable Talmadge Heflin is the Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.In the 78th Session, Heflin served as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.