TEA Party Caucus Advisory Committee to Release Legislative Priorities

TEA Party Caucus Advisory Committee for the Texas Legislature’s TEA Party Caucus to Release Legislative Priorities

For Immediate Release

Date: Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Time: 11:00 AM

Location: The Legislative Conference Center, State Capitol Extension, Room E2.002, Austin, Texas

Contact: JoAnn Fleming, (903) 360-2858

JoAnn Fleming, Chair of the Advisory Committee, says “Making Texas strong is our top priority.”

In her pre-release comments, Fleming added, “The Texas Legislature, the Governor, Lt. Governor, and House Speaker should work together to balance the state’s budget without accounting gimmicks, deferrals, and past practices of various types of budget trickery. They should balance the budget with available revenues; work to get state government down to its core constitutional functions by eliminating any departments, agencies, commissions, programs, or funds that fall outside those core functions, and in turn, plow those savings into areas where more funding is justified.

The core constitutional functions of our state government are public education; transportation; the justice system of criminal and civil courts, law enforcement, and corrections (state prisons); management of natural resources; state emergency services; and the administration of HHS-Medicaid services.

The chronic unwillingness of the federal government to cut spending and develop a decisive plan to reduce our $16 trillion and growing federal debt makes it all the more necessary for Texas to get its fiscal house in order. Texans deserve a budget balanced without new taxes, fees, or revenue streams, and they deserve the security and independence of a preserved Rainy Day Fund.

Across-the-board spending cuts are not enough. Cutting 2%, 5% or 10% of something state government shouldn’t be doing in the first place still leaves us with core functions short-changed and an unsustainable and unhealthy pattern of budget-balancing tricks. Our nation needs a strong Texas; therefore, the 83rd Texas Legislature must begin to reduce the state’s dependence on federal dollars, resist more state debt, and get our state’s own fiscal house in order.

The Advisory Committee’s legislative priorities have not been presented to legislators in the TEA Party Caucus, any outside the TEA Party Caucus, nor have they been released to any statewide official. Maintaining our independence is necessary as we work with elected officials; therefore, we are first releasing the Advisory Committee’s priorities to the public through the news media and social media.

We do not require agreement with any official on all issues in order to work with them on those areas of agreement that will be for the long-term good of Texas. We are building coalitions of support among various constituencies and among various elected and appointed officials to solve problems to make Texas strong for working families, small businesses, and future generations of Texans.

We support the five principles in Governor Perry’s State Budget Compact and many of our legislative priorities will be tied directly to the five planks:

1.Practice Truth in Budgeting

2.Support a Constitutional limit of spending to the growth of population & inflation

3.Oppose any new taxes or tax increases; make the small business tax exemption permanent

4.Preserve a strong Rainy Day Fund

5.Cut unnecessary and duplicative government programs and agencies

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