We feel pretty confident that the Legislature wanted to aid school facilities.

"But if the Legislature wanted to make it even more clear," he said, "I think that would be a good idea and a good thing."

Even if the Legislature wanted to reword the referendum, he said, there is not enough time.

He said that clearly the Legislature did not want the stricter rules, because it had rejected the 40 previous efforts to enact them.

By some estimates, this means the Legislature wants to spend as much as $700 million more than the state expects to collect.

"I don't think the Legislature wants to answer to the taxpayers for wasting that kind of money," he said.

This simple economic truth explains why the Legislature wants to let the real estate industry triumph over advocates of the buyer's right to know.

The Legislature simply doesn't want to play the bad guy.

The Legislature wants to adhere to the 1997 deal.

Texas is just one of five states that does not have a personal or corporate income tax, a distinction the Legislature wants to preserve.