Listen here to Phil's interview with WallBuilders Live about the Texas legislative session, why Texas' balanced budget amendment is the model for what Washington, DC needs to do, pro-life legislation, and much more.

As the East Coast suffers through the damage of hurricane Irene, Texas soldiers prepare for a similar disaster that could hit the Gulf Coast region this hurricane season.

Saturday, members of the Texas State Guard met at Camp Mabry and planned what they would do to help the state if a hurricane hit the gulf coast.

“Hurricane season ramps up particularly between August, September and October. That's our main focus,” said Lt. Col. Phil King, a guardsman and a State Representative from Weatherford. “What we are doing today, is reviewing protocols and making sure we are prepared to go out if we are called."

In times of crisis including hurricanes Ike, Katrina and Rita, Guard members are called to serve.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implemented two new rules, which should greatly concern every Texan.   If not stopped, these new regulations will prove extremely detrimental to Texas’ economy. 

One rule is called the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR).  The second is the Utility Maximum Achievable Control Technology Rule (MACT), which is intended to reduce air pollutant emissions from coal-fired power plants.  These new federal regulations will almost certainly force many Texas power plants to shut down resulting in much higher electricity rates for Texans and potentially causing blackouts across our state.

Why does a balanced budget approach work? It’s simple really. The importance of a balanced budget amendment is that it forces the legislature, by force of law, to focus all budget discussions on reconciling spending and revenue.  We are free to reconcile by a number of means: raise taxes, cut spending, or a combination of the two.  But, at the end of the day, every budget debate comes back to reconciling spending and revenue. As a legislature, we can never ignore it. Even the most liberal members of the legislature are forced to work toward that reconciliation.  Otherwise, the Comptroller of Public Accounts will never certify the budget and we start all over again.

Texas public schools may find a little breathing room after the announcement from State Rep. Phil King that the allocation of federal education dollars has been made available to schools, netting district schools in Parker and Wise counties a total of $8 million.

“This money will help save the jobs of teachers and classroom staff during these hard economic times,” King stated in a release. “It is crucial that during this difficult time, we focus on keeping money in the classroom to support the teachers who work so hard for our children and the future of Texas.”

As we progress through this legislative session and attempt to craft a fiscally responsible budget in the shadow of the looming shortfall we are facing, there have been many calls from outside groups to spend money that we don't have. I would like to share with you an excellent video of former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm discussing these challenges facing the state.

Rep. King was recently a guest on the Wallbuilders LIVE! radio program with Rick Green.

State Rep. Phil King of Weatherford, deserves a great deal of credit for keeping the Texas budget from becoming a massive stealth fee hike. Rep. King and his allies chopped $100 million in raised fees out of the budget proposal, fees that were hiding in some of the hundreds of amendments that had been attached to the bill.

King stated, “Our job is to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes like in California, where they took on a ton of debt and raised taxes and increased their trouble. Our job is to get through this without raising taxes, that will hurt the economy, and without going into debt because that will hurt the state budget in the long run.”

Legislators working to reduce spending have strong re-election support from voters in both parties, while tax-hikers are strongly opposed. The results underscore November’s election, in which voters demanded fiscal responsibility.

“While some pundits are trying feverishly to ignore the message sent by voters, the fact of the matter is citizens are demanding that legislators act prudently,” said Michael Quinn Sullivan, president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. “More important, voters will be watching lawmakers closely with an eye toward 2012.”