According to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), the fiscal impact of HB 1781 is indeterminate because it depends on several unknown factors, such as the amount of legislative appropriations, private gifts or grants received, and the investment income earned by the Texas Livestock and Rodeo Education and Continuation Fund. The bill creates this new fund outside the state treasury and authorizes the Office of the Governor (OOG), at the direction of the Texas Livestock and Rodeo Education and Continuation Board, to disburse money from the fund without requiring a separate appropriation. While the fund is initially unfunded by the bill itself, any future costs would be driven by how much money is deposited into it through appropriations or donations.

The Office of the Governor estimates that administering the grant program would require four full-time employees (FTEs), with staffing and related costs totaling $1,115,010 for the 2026–27 biennium. In addition to personnel costs, the OOG projects technology expenses of $252,720 to build and maintain a new grant management system. Importantly, the analysis assumes that these administrative and technological costs would be paid directly from the newly created fund rather than from general revenue or the OOG's existing appropriations.

At the local government level, the fiscal impact is undetermined. While local rodeos and county fairs could benefit from receiving grants, the amount and frequency of grant awards are unpredictable and will depend entirely on the available funding. Overall, while the bill does not immediately obligate state general revenue, it creates a new funding mechanism and administrative structure that will have recurring costs and demand public oversight.

HB 1781 proposes to create the Texas Livestock and Rodeo Education and Continuation Grant Program, administered by a newly formed Texas Livestock and Rodeo Education and Continuation Board under the Office of the Governor. The program seeks to award grants to county fairs and local rodeos to assist with facilities, event programming, staffing, and public health and safety initiatives. While supporting local cultural events may be a worthy cause, the structure of this proposal presents serious concerns for those committed to limited government principles.

First, the bill clearly grows the size and scope of government. It establishes a new grant program, a new administrative board, a new funding structure outside the state treasury, and authorizes the hiring of new government employees. These expansions are unnecessary given that rodeos and fairs have traditionally succeeded through local leadership, private fundraising, and voluntary community support.

Second, the bill increases the burden on taxpayers. Though it does not make an immediate appropriation, it creates a permanent funding vehicle reliant on future legislative appropriations, gifts, grants, and investment income. Administrative expenses alone are projected to exceed $1.3 million in the first biennium, costs that will ultimately be borne by the public. Once a new government program is created, it typically grows beyond its original scope, creating a lasting taxpayer obligation.

Third, the bill creates political and bureaucratic risk by placing the fund under the control of the Office of the Governor, rather than a more neutral administrator like the Comptroller. This structure invites concerns about politicized grantmaking, favoritism, and reduced transparency, undermining public trust.

Fourth, HB 1781 crowds out private and local solutions. By offering state funding, it risks discouraging private giving and weakening local community ownership of these events. Government dependency replaces self-reliance, eroding the very civic spirit that made Texas rodeos and fairs successful for generations.

Finally, the bill distracts from more pressing state priorities. At a time when Texas faces serious challenges — from securing the border to reducing property taxes and improving public education — growing government to fund rodeos is not a core responsibility of state government.

While the bill does not impose new direct regulatory burdens on individuals or businesses, it does create new compliance obligations for grant recipients, adding administrative overhead for small organizations.

For all of these reasons — government expansion, taxpayer risk, political favoritism concerns, displacement of private efforts, and misaligned priorities — Texas Policy Research recommends that lawmakers vote NO on HB 1781.

• Individual Liberty: The bill does not directly restrict individual rights or freedoms. However, by expanding government programs into private and local activities like rodeos and fairs, it indirectly weakens the culture of individual responsibility and initiative. When communities become reliant on government grants to sustain their events, it can erode the spirit of self-governance and independence that liberty requires.
• Personal Responsibility: The bill undermines personal and community responsibility by shifting the burden of supporting local events from individuals, businesses, and local volunteers to the state government. Instead of communities raising their own funds, seeking sponsorships, or organizing themselves, the bill encourages dependence on taxpayer-funded grants, which runs counter to the principle that citizens should be responsible for their own needs and institutions.
• Free Enterprise: The bill negatively impacts free enterprise by injecting government money into a domain that should be supported by voluntary transactions and private markets. Government-funded grants can distort the competitive environment by favoring certain events over others, discouraging private investments, sponsorships, and innovations that normally occur when events must compete and thrive on their own merits.
• Private Property Rights: There is no direct infringement on private property rights under this bill. However, because grant funds come from taxpayer dollars — money forcibly collected from private citizens — it could be argued that redirecting private resources into politically distributed grants without direct benefit to the taxpayer is a soft violation of property rights in principle.
• Limited Government: The bill clearly violates the principle of limited government. It creates a new grant program, a new fund, a new board, new government employees, and new spending obligations. It expands the role of state government into areas best left to local initiative and private sector solutions, representing unnecessary and permanent government growth at taxpayer expense.