Rick Perry doubled spending in decade, ad says

Rick Perry, big spender?

That’s one message in a recently posted online advertisement from Keep Conservatives United, a super-PAC backing U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., for president.

The ad’s narrator says Texas Gov. “Rick Perry doubled spending in a decade.”

As backup, the North Carolina-based group cites annual comprehensive financial statements issued by the state of Texas that indeed indicate spending doubled over Perry’s first 10 years as governor.

However, we’re not persuaded those statements–which fold in some spending the governor has no control over–are the best way to gauge changes on Perry’s watch. Spending budgeted by state lawmakers and signed into law by the governor increased less than 50 percent, in raw dollars, less than that if inflation is considered. We rated the group’s claim Mostly False.