In 1975, only a few months into Bob Bullock’s administration, the Texas Comptroller’s office first printed a four-page publication titled Texas State Government Financial Statement, sharing the belief that Texans have a right to know about the administration of their state government.
Later, as Lieutenant Governor, Bullock wrote in the 20th anniversary issue that “the Comptroller’s office had the potential and responsibility to become the premier financial research wing of state government,” with Fiscal Notes serving a “key role in the transformation.” [August 1995, “Filling the Information Gap”]
At the time of the first issue, Texas’ population of more than 12 million was less than half its current size, and the 64th Texas Legislature had completed a session addressing what Texas Monthly described as “complex and difficult issues that wouldn’t go away,” including school finance and property tax reform. That year, the Legislature also established the Public Utility Commission of Texas and attempted to create a new state constitution.
The Comptroller’s Financial Statement was originally made up of tables detailing the state’s monthly and fiscal year revenue and expenditures — information now available online under Transparency. The first issue laid out bigger plans to occasionally supplement “this basic report with articles on selected Texas tax topics and national tax developments.”
By May 1976, the publication began adding context and analysis through articles, with headlines such as “$7 Million Additional Revenue from Yates,” regarding the unitization of and increased production from the Yates oil field, and “It’s Not a Surplus,” providing an entertaining clarification of a change to major fund revenues.
The next 30 years continued to bring numerous tweaks and renovations, growing along with the state, but always with the goal to proudly continue the original mission. With Glenn Hegar’s administration, the publication went through another transformation, continuing the legacy but with a new focus. As he wrote in May 2015, “You’ll see a new emphasis on in-depth analysis concerning state finances … presented in a way that helps Texas taxpayers understand how their tax dollars are collected and spent — and why.”
Comptroller Hegar’s efforts to help taxpayers understand the complexities of Texas’ economy, make challenging financial and tax issues more comprehensible to the public, and continue Bullock’s legacy of publishing a premier resource for original and insightful research prompted the most recent overhaul.
In early 2024, Hegar’s administration relaunched Fiscal Notes as a thoroughly modernized publication, making it more nimble, dynamic and better aligned with current trends surrounding media consumption. This also opened up possibilities to examine a range of topics through broader formats. Today’s Fiscal Notes publishes rich content more frequently online, while still producing printed newsletters quarterly.
Karen Hudgins, assistant director of the Communications and Information Services Division at the Comptroller’s office, has worked on different aspects of the publication, including writing, editing, planning and production since joining the agency in 2001.
“It’s been rewarding to see the publication evolve and see the team experiment with new ways to engage with readers,” says Hudgins. “What has not changed is Fiscal Notes’ commitment to sharing important, topical economic information with readers.”
Throughout 2025, the team will present a series of articles on the state’s economic past and future to honor Fiscal Notes’ legacy of offering balanced perspectives rather than “simplistic conclusions” that might “add as much confusion to an issue as they shed light upon it.” [August 1976, “State Government Employment in Texas”]
A REVIEW OF THE TEXAS ECONOMY