Journal of the Senate of the State of Texas, Regular Session of the Fifty-First Legislature Page: 11
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1950
S. C. R. No. 1, Providing for a
Joint Session to hear the message of
the Governor.
Resolved, By the Senate of Texas,
the House of Representatives con-
curring, that the Senate and House
meet in joint session at 12:00 noon
Wednesday, February 1, 1950, for the
purpose of hearing the message of
His Excellency, the Governor of Tex-
as, to the Special Session of the 51st
Legislature.
The resolution was read. On mo-
tion of Senator Aikin and by unani-
mous consent, the resolution was con-
sidered immediately and was adopted.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 2
Senator Kelly of Tarrant offered
the following resolution:
S. C. R. No. 2, Providing for method
of operation of State Government
without additional taxes.
Whereas, Cost of government, both
federal and state, is becoming astro-
nomical, and, in fact, unbearable to
the taxpayers of this country, dur-
ing the administration of 32 Presi-
dents of this country covering a pe-
riod of 156 years the Federal Gov-
ernment spent 179 billions while un-
der the present President of the
United States in less than 5 years the
Federal Government has spent 191
billions, and
Whereas, In the last 10 years the
population of the State of Texas has
increased 18%, the cost of living has
increased 70%, while at the same time
the cost of Texas government has in-
creased 2071%, and
Whereas, At the beginning of the
regular session of the 51st Legisla-
ture in January, 1949, the General
Revenue Fund in the State Treasury
showed a surplus of some 92 million
dollars, and
Whereas, In order to operate our
state government it is necessary that
each session of the Legislature pass
four general appropriation bills, which
bills were in the 51st Legislature
H. B. 319 (State Institutions of High-
er Learning), H. B. 320 (Judiciary),
H. B. 321 (State Hospitals and Spe-
cial Schools), and H. B. 322 (Depart-
mental) for the 1949-50 and 1950-51
biennium, and because of failure of
the last regular session to pass these
bills before answering the demands
of various pressure groups crying for
a slice of the General Revenue Fundsurplus, it was necessary for the late
Governor Beauford H. Jester to veto
the second year of the appropriation
to operate the state hospitals and
special schools as provided for in H. B.
321 amounting to $17,561,821.00 as
provided for in said bill, and
Whereas, It is increasingly ap-
parent that members of the legisla-
tive bodies have forgotten that there
is such a word as economy, but the
people back home, taxpayers that is,
are demanding that we get back to
constitutional government and the di-
rection of the Constitution of the
State of Texas to the effect that taxes
shall be equal and uniform and that
they shall be levied for economical
government purposes only shall be
followed, and
Whereas, We all recognize that
the poor unfortunates in our State
Hospitals and Special Schools must
be provided for and that they must
be provided for as well as we can
afford to provide for them to the end
that their care, treatment and educa-
tion will be of the finest type, how-
ever this Legislature should, never-
theless, conduct the affairs of this
State Government along the lines of
economy, and
Whereas, members of the commit-
tees to which bills are referred in
this special session of the 51st Leg-
islature now convened will be the only
members who will actually hear first-
hand testimony and evidence present-
ed in behalf of and against said bills;
Now, Therefore, Be it Resolved, By
the Senate of the State of Texas, the
House of Representatives concurring,
that the Senate and the House meet
in a joint session in the House of
Representatives and resolve them-
selves into a committee of the whole,
such joint session to be held after
one week's notice following the pas-
sage of this resolution in both the
Senate and the House, in order that
all the members of the Legislature
may, at one time at one place, meet
and hear the plea of the taxpayers
of this state, and determine the best
method to provide the operation of
the government of this state without
resorting to any additional taxes.
The resolution was read.
On motion of Senator Kelly of Tar-
rant the resolution was referred to
the Committee on Judicial Districts.
House Notified
The committee to notify the HouseI
11
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Texas. Legislature. Senate. Journal of the Senate of the State of Texas, Regular Session of the Fifty-First Legislature, legislative document, 1949; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth142191/m1/11/?q=%22%22~1: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.