AUSTIN – Today, House Bill 1025, the second supplemental spending bill of the 83rd Regular Session, was passed by the 83rd Texas Legislature. The bill now goes to the Governor’s desk for signature or veto.
“HB 1025 raises spending beyond the already considerable level of $197 billion in the proposed 2014-2015 budget,” said Talmadge Heflin, Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy, “And worse, it circumvents the state spending limit by tapping the Economic Stabilization Fund for $4 billion for needs that could have been met through General Revenue.”
“This spending takes place without hoped-for major reform – especially in taxes and education,” said Vice President for Policy Chuck DeVore, “We have the examples of other states to warn us against the consequences of overspending – and in that light, HB 1025 should concern all Texans as a departure from the Texas Model of prosperity that has sustained our homes and communities for so long.”
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.
Primary website: www.TexasPolicy.com
Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/TexasPublicPolicyFoundation
Twitter feed: www.Twitter.com/TPPF
“