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GAZETTE ARTICLE ONLINE
May 12,
2007
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House Passes Hughes Bill to Make Government Spending Transparent Bipartisan Bill Creates Database of State Spending
STATE CAPITOL - The Texas House of Representatives today passed a bill joint authored by Rep. Bryan Hughes, (R-Mineola) that makes government spending transparent and accountable to taxpayers. House Bill 3430 would require all state agencies to publish their expenditures online so taxpayers can judge for themselves if the expenditure is a valid use of their tax dollars.
“Taxpayers have a right to know how their government spends their money, and for the first time, state spending will be transparent,” said Hughes. “HB 3430 is an important step in the direction of transparency in government, truth in taxation, and true accountability.” The bill is joint authored by Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin).
The bill is only one of a package of taxpayer protection items being promoted by Hughes. As part of his Taxpayer Protection Plan, Hughes is pushing for lower taxes by returning state surpluses to taxpayers, truth in taxation by spending revenue for the purpose it was collected, and limitations on state taxes and expenditures so government never grows faster than the free market.
“Government often forgets that it has no money that it hasn’t taken from taxpayers, so we have a responsibility to be open and honest about how and why we spend that money,” said Hughes.
Rep. Bryan Hughes has represented Camp, Harrison, Upshur and Wood counties in the Texas House of Representatives since 2003. He is vice chairman of the Rural Caucus and serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Human Services Committee.
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