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The following letter was sent from Rep. King to all school districts located within House District 61 to explain legislation he filed last week:

Last week I filed HB 780 and HJR 73 – nearly identical to legislation I filed last legislative session. This legislation, if passed by 2/3 of both chambers of the legislature and ratified by Texas voters would constitutionally abolish the maintenance and operation portion of the school property tax effective January 1, 2016. I’ve already received several questions from school administrators about this legislation and I wanted to share with you why I feel this issue is important.

Relieving the property tax burden on Texas families has been a priority of mine and many other legislators over the past several years. Our current property tax system cannot properly fund public schools, and it is overly burdensome on property owners – 17 percent of an average home mortgage goes to property taxes. M&O taxes are the largest portion of Texan’s property tax bills – usually around half of their total bill. As you know, school district maintenance and operation ad valorem taxes have created a complicated and unfair system that depends on the mechanisms of “robin hood” or recapture to fund schools across our state. This tax system has led to three decades of school finance litigation in which the Supreme Court has repeatedly declared the system unconstitutional and has urged the legislature to “choose a new path” of revenue for public schools.

This legislation does not suggest any particular alternative revenue source. We are dedicated to replacing our broken system with a funding mechanism that is appropriately designed to fund the Texas public school systems adequately AND fairly. We chose a date 5 years down the road so that the legislature will have several years to work with school administrators and all Texans to find the proper alternative. Hopefully, when all is said and done – Texans will have lower property taxes, and the mechanism for funding schools will be much more fair.

Please do not hesitate to call or email with me any other questions you may have. Thank you.

Phil King

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817-381-8282

Austin – Last week State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) cast a vote to cut all State Representatives’ office operating budgets immediately by 10% and 14% effective in June of 2011. King’s vote helped HR 3, the Housekeeping Resolution for the House of Representatives pass. The vote came in light of the Texas Comptroller’s announcement last week that the state would face an estimated $27 Billion budget shortfall for the 2012-2013 biennium.

“The Governor and the legislature have asked all state agencies to find areas where they can cut the fat out of their budgets to help meet the shortfall,” King stated, “It would be utter hypocrisy for us to ask other agencies to cut their budgets and not do the same for ourselves. We must all work together and do our part to help slash the budget in order to meet the shortfall and not raise taxes.”

Springtown Epigraph

Edwin Newton

From using a cell phone while driving to border security and public education financing – there is plenty to talk about as Texas legislators begin their 140-day biennial journey this week.

But first they must slay the monster – a $26.8 billion revenue shortfall the Texas comptroller has forecast over the next two years.

Phil King, state representative for District 61, which includes Parker and Wise counties, says that’s where the discussion will begin and end.

“Everything is going to be completely defined by the budget,” he said.

King is quick to point out that the state of Texas isn’t operating in the red. In fact, the constitution mandates that legislators come up with a balanced budget over a two year cycle.

“We’re not California,” he said. “In 2009 we were one of only six states to be operating in the black.”

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817-381-8282

State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) this week filed HB 476, a bill that will protect small businesses in Texas by permanently extending the small business franchise tax exemption.

“Protecting small business in Texas is essential to ensuring Texas remains the number one place in the United States to do business,” King explained, “Failing to permanently extend this tax exemption for small businesses would stifle the pro-business climate of the state and discourage investment.”

HB 476 will make permanent the franchise tax exemption for businesses that have $1 million in total revenue or less. This exemption is set to expire on December 31, 2011. King was a co-author of the original legislation, HB 4765 in 2009. The Texas Legislature will convene for its 82nd Legislative Session on January 11, 2011.

Contact Information:
817-381-8282

Dear Friend,

Thank you for the honor of allowing me to serve House District 61 again. I am truly humbled and grateful for this opportunity to serve at a time when there are so many tough issues facing Texas.

We had an enormous victory on Tuesday night when we picked up 22 new seats for conservative Republicans in the Texas House! A reporter asked me yesterday what the election means – I told him, first and foremost, it means Texans want smaller government and a government that spends much, much less. We will need your help in making sure that message is not ignored in Austin.

On a personal note – I would very much appreciate your prayers for all the members of the Texas Legislature as we have a daunting task ahead of us. Thank you again for your support. It is a pleasure to serve you in the Texas Legislature.

Sincerely,

Phil King

Contact Information:
817-381-8282

The Texas Association of Realtors today announced its decision to endorse Phil King in his election to the Texas House to represent District 61. Making the statement last week, Chairman Bill Jones commended King’s commitment to the interests of Texas homeowners.

“When lawmakers return to work in 2011, they will be faced with many difficult decisions,” said Jones. “That’s why we need lawmakers like Phil King who understand the critical role homeowners play in keeping our state’s economy strong, which is why we’ve pledged our full support.”

Currently, Texas ranks 44th out of 50 states in homeownership. Electing lawmakers who understand homeowners’ concerns and act accordingly to bolster homeownership in Texas is the association’s top priority this election season. As a member of the Texas House for more than ten years, King has supported policies and initiatives that are in the best interests of property rights and homeownership throughout the state.

“I am honored to have the endorsement of the Texas Association of Realtors,” King said. “As small business owners, Texas Realtors make the dream of homeownership more affordable for all Texans and I will strive to help support this important goal.”

As one of the largest professional membership associations in the state, the Texas Association of Realtors expects to be a considerable grassroots force for Phil King.

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817-381-8282

Weatherford – Today State Representative Phil King announced that a joint effort between his office, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and Parker County would lead to increased safety for drivers on FM 1884 (Bethel Road) in Parker County.

King laid out a three-pronged plan that will be implemented this month to increase the safety of Bethel Road. The first two parts of the plan are short-term measures. King sent requests to local law enforcement offices including the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) requesting increased patrolling and enforcement of the dangerous road. DPS has already responded that they are stepping up patrols immediately. Additionally, the Texas Transportation Commission will vote later this month to decrease the speed limit on Bethel Road from 60 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour.

The third phase of the plan is a long-term solution. With the cooperation of Parker County, TxDOT plans to install 8-foot shoulders along Bethel Road along with turn lanes in a couple of places.

King explained, “I’m very pleased with the cooperative effort between the state and county to come together to develop a solution to keep drivers safe on Bethel Road. The narrowness of Bethel Road combined with the high speeds many travel on it with has made the road dangerous. I’m confident that this comprehensive solution will force drivers to slow down and create a safer environment for everyone traveling the road.”

TxDOT will begin the next step in implementing long-term improvements on Bethel Road by developing the detail design. Improvements to the 6.5 miles of Bethel Road from B.B. Fielder Drive to the end of Bethel will cost approximately $6.3 million. The project is anticipated to be awarded to a contractor by late 2011.

National Review Online

Rich Lowry

Texas already looms large in its own imagination. Its elevated self-image didn’t need this: More than half of the net new jobs in the U.S. during the past 12 months were created in the Lone Star State.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 214,000 net new jobs were created in the United States from August 2009 to August 2010. Texas created 119,000 jobs during the same period. If every state in the country had performed as well, we’d have created about 1.5 million jobs nationally during the past year, and maybe “stimulus” wouldn’t be such a dirty word.

What does Austin know that Washington doesn’t? At its simplest: Don’t overtax and -spend, keep regulations to a minimum, avoid letting unions and trial lawyers run riot, and display an enormous neon sign saying, “Open for Business.”

Weatherford Telegram

State Rep. Phil King

There is a lot of good economic news in Texas. We are one of only six state governments that didn’t run a budget deficit in 2009. We’ve had the largest 10-year growth in private sector jobs among all the states. We now host more Fortune 1000 companies than any other state. We’re the largest exporting state in the nation, produce more energy than any other state, and our unemployment rate has been at or below the national average for forty-four consecutive months. I could go on and on.

Unfortunately there is bad news, too. We are in the worst economy in 75 years. Until the Obama administration realizes that you can’t create a strong economy built on debt, massive new spending, and redistribution of wealth it’s simply not going to get much better.

So what can you and I do? Well, over the next year elected officials at every level – city councils, school boards, commissioner courts, the Texas Legislature and U.S. Congress – will face unprecedented budget shortfalls. Elected officials will face enormous pressure to raise taxes to close the gap. Their communities are growing and in many cases their voters are demanding increased government programs and services.

Austin American-Statesman

State Reps. Leo Berman; Wayne Christian; Rob Eissler; Dan Flynn; Kelly Hancock; Phil King; Tan Parker; and Ken Paxton

As state legislators, we are disappointed that Texas schools will miss out on $830 million in federal funding because of an overt political attempt to embarrass the Texas Legislature and the governor in the form of an amendment inserted into federal law by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin. The Doggett amendment requires the State of Texas to maintain education funding at current levels for each of the next three budget years 2011, 2012 and 2013 to receive the federal dollars under the emergency school aid funding authorized by Congress last month.

The language added by Doggett required the governor to guarantee these levels of funding when he applied for the federal education aid. However, since the Legislature writes the state budget every two years, Gov. Rick Perry was unable to make that guarantee, noting that “surely Congress did not intend to require states to violate their own constitutions and statutes in order for schools to receive this money. I am sworn to uphold state laws and our constitution, which prohibit binding commitments about future budgets or funding levels.”

Texas’ state budget for 2012 and 2013 will be drafted and voted on by legislators when we convene in Austin in 2011. Perry clearly is unable to guarantee to the federal government that the 82nd Legislature will appropriate certain, specific levels of funding to public education in good faith because the governor does not write the state budget and, in any event, the 2012-13 state budget does not yet exist.