In the administration of the State government during the past two years, an earnest effort has been made by the Executive and all other departments of the public service, to give the people a clean, efficient, and economical government.
That the full measure of our success may be ascertained, and the people more fully informed, the most careful and rigid investigation into the administration of every department of government and into the management of each State institution is invited and suggested. That the laws should be properly enforced upon all alike, no law-abiding man will deny. The Constitution provides that "the Governor shall cause the laws to be faithfully executed," and every means and power that could be appropriately exercised has been brought into requisition to meet this mandate of the Constitution. No one should be strong enough to escape the power of the law, and none too weak to receive its protection.
The mandate of the Constitution is clear and the duty of the Governor, with respect to enforcing the law, is plain, but the Governor's powers are not adequate, and adequate statutory powers as contemplated by the Constitution should be promptly provided by legislation suited to present conditions as well as for future contingencies.
Obedience to all criminal laws should be a condition in liquor dealers' bonds, and jurisdiction for suits for breach thereof should be given to the district courts of Travis County.
The transactions of the Treasury Department are set out in detail in the State Treasurers annual report for the fiscal year ending August 31, 1908. The report, together with the tables accompanying the same, contain much useful information, and it is suggested that an examination of the same will be useful and profitable to the legislators.
At the beginning of this administration, the Comptroller estimated the deficit for the fiscal year ending August 31, 1907, to be approximately $300,000, and possibly more. However, as a result of careful and, we believe, efficient administration, aided by more effective revenue legislation, the deficit was avoided, and the State has been able to meet all of its current obligations for the past two years, and at all times to maintain an adequate working surplus in the State Treasury. Instead of a deficit, as predicted, on August 31, 1907, the State had met all of its obligations, and had a cash balance of $692,612.81 to the credit of the general revenue, and at the close of the fiscal year, August 31, 1908, after paying all claims when presented, the State had to the credit of the general revenue fund a balance of $888,985.61.
This very satisfactory financial condition was secured and has been maintained under the operation of the present tax system without additional tax burdens upon the individual property-tax payers. Interests theretofore escaping and property theretofore unrendered have been required, under the new laws, to contribute more to the support of the government, thereby lessening the burden upon those who were under the old laws bearing more than their just share.
To illustrate: Under the operation of the intangible tax law, $173,698,318 of intangible values of railways and bridge and ferry companies were listed for State and county taxes for the year 1908. The physical values of the railways increased under the new rendition law from $100,166,782, in 1906, to $157,822,790, in 1908. The intangible tax law, and the full rendition law has added to the tax rolls more than $250,000,000 of railway and other corporate values theretofore escaping taxation. The credits of money of banks and bankers and of others than banks and bankers are not now being properly listed for taxation; still there has been a great improvement, as the tax rolls show that they were increased from $42,112,424, in 1906, to $80,717,825, in 1908; an increase of more than 91 per cent. These are prominent illustrations of property values heretofore escaping, which, under the new laws, have contributed to the reduction of the ad valorem tax rate of 20 cents on the one hundred dollars in 1906, to the low rate of 6¼ cents on the one hundred dollars in 1908. The average tax rate in the counties throughout the State for 1906 was 55 cents on the one hundred dollars. This average rate of 55 cents was reduced in 1908 to an average rate of 40 cents on the one hundred dollars for county purposes by the operation of the new laws. The individual citizens who have been paying taxes upon their homes and farms at a fair valuation will pay less taxes in 1908 in proportion to value than they have paid for the support of the State government in any year since 1860, and as the receipts from other sources to the credit of general revenue increases, the ad valorem tax rate for State purposes will be reduced in proportion.
Under the operation of the tax laws of the last Legislature, the property values on the tax rolls increased from $1,221,159,869, in 1906, to $2,174,122,480, in 1908. The amount of taxes paid in 1906 on the tax rate of 20 cents on the one hundred dollars, amounted to $2,435,412.92, and in 1908, with the tax rate of 6¼ cents, the total tax amounts to $1,358,826.55; an increase in assessed values of $952,935,411, and a reduction of $1,076,586.37 in the total amount of ad valorem State taxes levied for 1908 as compared with 1906, and a much more equitable distribution of the taxes has been secured.