Rep. Mike Schofield Files Bill to Cap Growth of State Spending
Katy, TX News (January 16, 2017) – State Representative Mike Schofield filed House Bill 936 this week to prevent state government spending from growing more than the growth in the state’s population, allowing for inflation. The bill would change the spending cap currently in the Texas Constitution to prevent the state budget from growing above the previous budget by more than the increase in the number of people and the cost of providing the same level of services.
“The bill is designed to stop government from taking up a larger and larger percentage of the state’s economy by preventing it from growing beyond its current size, allowing increases only for inflation and for the increased population of our state,” Schofield says. The bill is a companion to Senate Bill 9, filed by Senator Kelly Hancock of Tarrant County.
“Our state’s current spending cap increases as Texans’ incomes rise, so that the harder you work and the more productive you are, the more of your money government can spend” explains Rep. Schofield. “We need a cap that freezes the relative size of government, so that the state can only increase spending to match the increase in costs due to inflation or the number of people needing our current services due to population growth.”
HB 936 is designed to prevent the state government from constantly expanding and taking up an ever-increasing portion of the Texas economy. Rep. Schofield spoke on spending cap issues at the Texas Public Policy Foundation Policy Orientation on Friday, January 13.
Mike Schofield is the State Representative for Texas House District 132 in Katy and Cy-Fair. Mike was named “Freshman of the Year” in the Texas House for his work in the 84th legislative session.
Courtesy of Rep. Mike Schofield
