There were numerous attempts this session to reverse the achievements of the last ten years or so that have reduced abuse of Texas’ civil justice system, reduced excessive litigation costs, and increased access to the courts for those who are truly injured. These included: reducing access to workers compensation (the Entergy bill); lessening causation standards…
Author: Bill
TX Legislature in Review: Electricity and Renewable Energy
Most of the electricity bills this session had one thing in common—they were going to make electricity more expensive for Texas consumers or taxpayers. Fortunately, most of them didn’t pass. The major bill that did pass provided incentives, i.e. subsidies, for electricity generation plants equipped with carbon capture technology. But it may not wind up…
TX Legislature in Review: Property Rights
Eminent Domain reform moved forward for the first time since 2005. HJR 14 will stop local governments from using blight designations to condemn blocks of perfectly good homes and businesses for economic development projects. That is good news—El Paso and other cities may be out of the downtown redevelopment business when it comes to using…
TX Legislature in Review: Windstorm Insurance
The windstorm insurance bill fixed the symptoms without solving the underlying problems with TWIA. General revenue is no longer at risk, but coastal policy holders are still stuck with the most expensive windstorm insurance possible and taxpayers and policyholders statewide will still have to pick up the bill That will especially be true if we…
TX Legislature in Review: Homeowners’ Insurance
Texas Department of Insurance sunset legislation would have made modest improvements to the status quo, but the failure of the TDI sunset bill means consumers will still be subject to the regulatory confusion they’ve suffered thought over the last decade or so. Unless, of course, the entire Texas Department of Insurance goes away. Something similar happened…
Tax Cuts Work
In his recent National Review Online article on the federal government’s deficit spending, Rich Lowry wrote, “The same way overzealous Republicans once argued that tax cuts paid for themselves, Obama Democrats argue that deficit spending pays for itself.” Lowry’s statement is problematic on several levels. For one, it essentially equates tax cutting and deficit spending,…
Property Rights Still at Risk
Four years have passed since the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous Kelo decision, which essentially changed private property ownership from a fundamental civil right to a privilege granted by the state at its sole discretion. Texas has failed to adequately respond to this decision. The first attempt in 2005 missed the mark. In 2007, the Legislature…
Texas New Energy Taxes
A recent study estimated that proposed federal legislation aimed at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions would increase Texans electricity bills by a minimum of $10 billion. Meanwhile, the Obama administration announced new fuel standards that could cost American car buyers $19 billion a year when fully implemented. Not content with these new energy taxes on Texas…
Welcome to Texas
Dear Mr. Limbaugh: I noted your evident frustration recently with the high tax policies of New York that subject you to a punitive income tax rate anytime you step foot in the state to perform your show. I was delighted that you expressed an interest in making Texas the home of your alternate studio whenever…
Times are Tough, but They Could Be Worse
A recent article about the current economic meltdown on Mises.org opened with the claim, “Far from being prosperous, our America is now being buffeted by the worst financial tsunami in generations.” The folks at Mises don’t usually travel along with the mainstream media, but in this case they did. Sensational claims that things haven’t been…