Y'all don't kid yourself. The politicians are making a whole lot of money, but it ain't from a government payroll check. Kickbacks and everything else that is involved in politics. They have their own political agenda.

Well Said !!!

I think all the stuff aside.

It is refreshing to see a politician who wants to buck the system and stop the stealing from TPWD.

Lyle Larson is not your ordinary politico he turned down over 300-k in salaries and raises while representing the public in San Antonio & Bexar county.

Most of the state parks come close to breaking even, some make money,some lose. It`s a shame, but the hunting/fishing license money and the license plate money combined with the parks revenue should be self sustaining. Where does the money go ?

Rick Perry and all of his "campaign" buddies...

We would be better off if state legislators made a livable wage. Only wealthy lawyers can afford to take months off from their regular job and serve as a legislator. The thing about state legislators is they get low pay but excellent retirement benefits after just six years of service. So if you want to cut something retirement benefits for state legislators would be a great place to start.

We need to make sure we let our elected officials know by our votes that money shouldn't be collected for one purpose then siphoned off to fund something else. I'm a State retiree and the Texas legislature has been trying for years to get into our pension fund, OUR money we paid into it while we were working, and move it to the general fund. The referendums about it on the ballot were even trick worded so it seemed like it took a no vote to defeat it, but really took a yes. It comes up again every 2 or 3 elections, usually the smaller ones. If they ever get it thru it'll be as bad as DC stealling from Social Security.

I know that this is only partially related to the topic, but some predict that 70,000-100,000 jobs will be cut in the state in education alone. Most legislators will not consider touching the "rainy day" fund that was created from tax revenue from oil and gas. The fund is currently at $9.4 billion dollars. Economists believe that if the entire fund is used it will be restored to $1.4 billion in just three years. While all of this is going on, Senator Steve Odgen of Bryan, who is one of the key budget leaders and the senator from my district, proposed a constitutional amendment to allow private schools to receive funding for textbooks from the school fund that is already estimated to be $23 billion dollars shy of meeting funding requirements in the next biennium.

Governor Rick Perry and the both branches of the legislature were warned as early as 2006 that the current state finance system would result in huge budget shortfalls and a deficit.
http://www.window.state.tx.us/news/60515letter.html
It is interesting that none of this was brought to light during his campaign for re-election.

I have done 2 internships for the state parks, and they actually lose money on average.

I am glad someone gets it. Keep after 'em, Stogie!

its not about budget cuts, its about robbing the money from an account that is supposed to be dedicated for parks and wildlife. we pay those special taxes with the idea that its used for those specific things. The cuts to TPWD are so that the government can steal more money from that account to use for its other bloated BS programs. THEY SHOULD BE THROWN IN JAIL FOR STEALING OUR MONEY