The Texas Politics Project

In the May 2011 UT/Tribune Poll, respondents were asked: "Below is a list of ways in which state lawmakers might raise additional revenue in order to address the expected budget gap. Which of the following methods of increasing revenue would you support? (Check all that apply)"

Response items in the May poll included: Legalize gambling and impose taxes on casinos; Increase taxes on alcoholic beverages; Legalize the use of marijuana and impose taxes on its purchase; Adopt a fuel inefficiency surcharge on certain new vehicles; Ban the use of cell phones while driving and charge fines for individuals who break this law; Eliminate the August state sales tax holiday if the budget situation does not improve; Increase the state tax on businesses; Increase the state sales tax rate (currently 6.25%); Implement a state income tax on individuals; 94%; I do not support any of these measures.

Results for the May poll are reported in the second column of the table. (under "May 2011").

An identically-phrased question was asked in the February 2011 UT/Tribune poll, at the beginning of the legislative session. For all of the response items listed above save one ("Increase the state tax on businesses"), an identical response option was also given in the February poll. The results for each of these options are included in the third column of the table (under "February 2011").