Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, has filed a bill offering up to $300 million in tax credits to companies interested in building so-called clean coal plants in Texas. The plants, the first of their kind in the nation, would be designed to sequester at least 60 percent of the carbon dioxide they produce. Under those guidelines, the plants would meet the emission standards of California and Washington, according to supporters.

Why can't government fix the economy? Well, to be honest, much of our economic woe is the fault of government. Ronald Reagan was right when he said that "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." And after all, who does it make more sense to trust - the power of the individual, the strength of the family, the free enterprise system? Or should we put our trust in politicians, bureaucrats and government agencies to meet our needs and manage our lives?

According to the District 61 representative, he will file legislation to pass a constitutional amendment to require any state budget surplus to be used to buy down property taxes. Additionally he plans to propose reform to the current appraisal system.

It is time to abolish the property tax and replace it with a fairer, simpler, broad-based consumption tax that will give homeowners the promise of one day owning their home free and clear of banks and the government.

I’m writing this letter to ask the board to substantially decrease the size of the line item for legal services. For a budget of less than $950,000, a $200,000 legal services line item seems gratuitous. That’s more than one fifth of the entire annual budget.

"I strongly encourage residents to contact the conservation district in order to express their concerns," said Rep. King. "Furthermore, cities should continue their efforts to protest the district's decisions by submitting official resolutions passed by their respective city councils to the board as soon as possible."

“Wind energy is becoming a major player, not just in the renewable market, but in competition with all energy sources,” said Wind Coalition executive director Paul Sadler. “Our growth wouldn’t be possible without the support of Representative King, who understands that wind energy is a key ingredient in growing our economy and reaching the state’s renewable energy goals.”

Unfortunately, we have had three hurricanes make landfall on or near the Texas coast since late July. First was Dolly, which hit around South Padre Island. Gustav was next making landfall just east of Texas. And last week we had Ike which devastated much of southeast Texas. The State Guard activated me for each of these hurricanes to assist with relief efforts. I’m very pleased to inform you that the Texas State Guard and all of the other volunteer and relief organizations are doing an outstanding job in handling these efforts.

Democrat Jim Dunnam, who supported a competitive electricity market in Texas along with a majority of Democrats, is dead wrong with his historical facts and his view of the current market in his op-ed piece Friday, August 1 (“Utility Customers Pay for Wild West Ride”).

“Many of my constituents have recently contacted me about large increases in their local property tax appraisals. This is deeply disturbing, as the Texas Legislature voted in 2006 to reduce school property taxes by a full one-third. Additionally, we went further by requiring voter approval before certain property taxes could be raised."