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A bill is making its way through the Texas Legislature that could save drivers money on gas. The state House of Representatives is close to approving tax-free gas for the three-month summer travel season. If approved, drivers could save $0.20 per gallon per fill-up.

Surveys estimated that a family with a car and a truck would save more than $100 for every three-month period.

The bill still must pass through the House and state Senate.


Great - next session they are going to have a shortfall, then go on a witchhunt to find who is wasting money like they did in 2003 - budget hawks posturing to be the one that makes the biggest whack. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: In case anyone checked, there is no state income tax, so sales, property, and gas taxes are more critical.

I'm sure drivers are really hurting for gas in Texas - this morning a pickup whiped to the left of me, then a Civic whizzed by on the right shoulder. :mad:

Texas has always had an odd relationship with gasoline. I remember a time in Corpus Christi in the mid 1990s when OPEC over-produced. Gasoline became so cheap that for a few months we were paying more per gallon in taxes than for the fuel itself.

Crude math: 21 million Texans....5 million families....each one saves $100 a summer....two summers....the next session is going to experience a billion loss in income...raise "sin taxes", college tutition, pretend some services are "non-essential" and cut them... :(

Not to mention that you want higher gasoline prices during the peak driving season in order to temper demand, however little that may be. Odds are they'll wind up paying just as much as they otherwise would have, except the government won't get their cut for maintaining the roads.

Actually the money to suplament the gas tax moratorium is coming from a budget surplus. Recent rises in property tax have given the state a windfall that they had decided to earmark for education.

Then they got a better idea... forget education, lets make gas cheaper!

Apparently education is not a big concern in Austin. I mean it's not like Texas is last or anything (ranked next to last #49 in verbal SAT scores). And Austin pays teachers plenty. They should be able to get by fine on what they make (16.5 % less than the rest of the nation).

What Texas should do is take that 2 billion dollar surplus and make the starting salary 30% higher for Math, Science and English teachers.

Source: http://www.window.state.tx.us/comptrol/wwstand/wws0512ed/

Crude math: 21 million Texans....5 million families....each one saves $100 a summer....two summers....the next session is going to experience a billion loss in income...raise "sin taxes", college tutition, pretend some services are "non-essential" and cut them... :(Nahh... they wont raise taxes... they'll just cut the Education budget.... I'm mean it's got plenty of fat in it.... right? :mad:

Never underestimate the impact of local industry. Everything else takes a back seat. Red/Blue? Urban/Rural? North/South? Culture Wars? Ideology? At the end of the day, NY/NJ pols support the financial sector, Iowa pols support ag subsidies, and TX pols support Big Oil. We will have to be dragged kicking & screaming on this one............as a Texan, I thank the rest of my fellow Americans for doing the heavy lifting on our behalf.

Apparently education is not a big concern in Austin.

Dan, education is a big concern in Austin. It's just not as much of a concern for you Houstonians who travel here once every two years to that big dome like structure a few blocks north of my office. ;) :D

Dan, education is a big concern in Austin. It's just not as much of a concern for those Houstonians who travel here once every two years to that big dome like structure a few blocks north of my office. ;) :D

Fair Enough... I should distinguish Austinites, with those guys in that pink granite building on Congress Ave. The guys in the Granite buildings on Guadalupe spend all day every day thinking of nothing but education.

PS.
s/you/those/g. I'm in Cypress... I left Houston a few years ago, but it's an easy landmark for people to find. Only work here cuz the city annexed our building so they could increase thier.... (what else)... Taxes!

11011011

I dont know why folks drive more in the summer. Or why texigans would even want to go outside in the summer. I hate the okie summers as is. 102f,,, Im going to go outside and play.. NOT ME.... LMAO. I scalp the yard with the mower after the 4th of July and hide by a A/C vent all I can.

psy

I dont know why folks drive more in the summer. Or why texigans would even want to go outside in the summer. I hate the okie summers as is. 102f,,, Im going to go outside and play.. NOT ME.... LMAO. I scalp the yard with the mower after the 4th of July and hide by a A/C vent all I can.

psy


That reminds me. The Prius gets a heat-blocker charcoal tint next weekend. Oh boy!

My Prius windshield sun guard arrived a few weeks ago. And my homemade ice vest went through a "mod" last week; an ice pack runs along the collar, which when flipped up hits my neck......that helps a lot. Plus I have the fan on full blast. Doing what I can to avoid AC.........so far so good as long as I'm the only one in the car.

The tint will come in handy for another reason too. With my shades and my collar-flipped-up ice vest I look like a moronic 1982 Risky Business impersonator. The tint will keep that out of sight. My wife still think's I'm insane, but too late for her..........she already married me.

I should do a small write-up on my window tint experience. Went to a local establishment with a good rep, and learned a lot. Did you know they now make state-of-the-art tint that is advertised as (1) blocking up to 99% of all infrared & solar heat, and (2) can actually be near transparent? I didn't try it out, so I have to take their word for now. Didn't buy it either. It was $400+.

The more I thought about this state tax moritorium....more people are paying with credit cards for gas - why should the state risk running up their debt?

This soooo goes against the rugged individualism in Texas - do everything you can to help yourself, before considering government help!

The Texas Senate might hesitate to go along with the gas tax cut, citing they can't fund property tax cuts too.

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=8a54f2f5-14eb-42b0-863c-14624fa1b1f8

BTW, Texas leads the nation in toll roads.

BTW, Texas leads the nation in toll roads.Are you implying that other states don't have as many roads as Texas?..

Ohh wait.... you mean in other states roads are free!!! :eek:

11011011 ;)

The priority in Austin:

NEVER introduce a state income tax (political sucide - everybody agrees on that)
Reduce property taxes (it's high)
Don't raise sales tax (8% - higher than average)
Raise the 'little taxes and fees'
Cut services if the voter backlash is minimal
Do more toll roads to avoid raising taxes

The priority in Austin (on Congress Ave):

NEVER introduce a state income tax (political sucide - everybody agrees on that)
Reduce property taxes (it's high)
Don't raise sales tax (8% - higher than average)
Raise the 'little taxes and fees'
Cut services if the voter backlash is minimal
Do more toll roads to avoid raising taxes

Fixed for our Austin brevrin.

11011011

In no way was I attempting to lump mparrish with those guys.

I find building more toll roads while skipping the state gas tax in the summer not making a great deal of sense.