2006 Policy Orientation Panel Summaries
Special Session Challenge: Connecting Teacher Salaries
and Quality with Student Achievement
In late 2005, the Texas
Supreme Court ruling on West Orange-Cove
threw down the gauntlet for state policymakers—public schools must be
overhauled for the legislature to fulfill its constitutional obligation for
establishing efficiency. The court explicitly challenged the legislature to
improve educational quality by providing better pay for teachers. Senator
Florence Shapiro, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, addressed the
need for the legislature to provide market-based salaries for public school
teachers and to align better pay with educational results. Dr. Eric Hanushek,
Texas Schools Project and the Hoover Institution, described the research
connecting teacher salaries, teacher quality, and student achievement, and
identified how this research can be used to shape state policy reform. Dr.
Theodore Hershberg, University of Pennsylvania's Operation Public Education,
identified the necessity for developing a comprehensive, long-term plan for
improving teacher quality that includes holding teachers accountable for
helping students achieve academic gains, value-added assessments, professional
development to enhance instruction, career opportunities that keep good
teachers in the classroom, a simplified salary schedule, and opportunities for
all teachers to earn a salary that competes with similar professions. Richard
Kouri, Texas State Teachers Association, identified acceptable forms of
differentiated salaries for teachers, and warned against basing salary
supplements on the results of a teacher's work.
School Districts and
Education Dollars: Looking for Results
The Texas Legislature faces
a June
1, 2006 deadline for finding
new state revenue for funding public schools and lowering reliance on local
property taxes. As state policymakers consider tax reform, they must heed the
Texas Supreme Court's warning about their responsibility to improve the
efficiency of Texas public schools. Senator Jeff Wentworth, author of the
HB 2 provision establishing a standard for schools to direct 65 percent of
operational spending on classroom instruction, addressed the need for districts
to prioritize spending on student learning as a fundamental requirement for
improving the efficiency of school spending. Representative Bill Keffer, who
advocates crafting the school finance system around the legislature's
constitutional obligations for funding public education, explained how defining
constitutional terms can improve public school efficiency and reduce the
state's vulnerability to lawsuits. Dr. Zena Rudo, Southwest Educational
Research Laboratory, described the research on Texas public schools showing how resource allocation can
improve school district efficiency, and identified how increasing the
proportion of school district spending on classroom instruction improves
student outcomes, particularly for economically disadvantaged students.
Protecting Private Property Rights after Kelo
Perhaps no Supreme Court decision in the last 50
years has set off a public furor like Kelo v. New London, which allowed
the city of New London, Connecticut, to seize the homes of Suzette Kelo and
others to make way for a new commercial and residential development. Sen. Kyle
Janek, author of SB 7, the eminent domain reform legislation passed last
summer, said that Texans need to continue looking into this issue to ensure
that Kelo-style takings do not occur in Texas. Rep. Beverly Wooley,
house sponsor of SB 7, echoed his call for vigilance. Larry Casto, director of
legislative affairs for the City of Dallas, cautioned against a
too aggressive response to Kelo. Scott Bullock, senior attorney with the
Institute for Justice, who argues Kelo
before the U.S. Supreme Court, discussed many examples of eminent domain abuse
around the country and the need to address problem areas in Texas such as using blight
designations to seize private property.
The Future of Texas Telecommunications
Representative Phil King, chairman of the House
Regulated Industries Committee, kicked off the panel with a comprehensive
overview of where the regulation of the telecommunications industry is headed
over the next few years. Paul Hudson, chairman of the Texas Public Utility
Commission, discussed the interim work the commission is offing on Universal
Service and other telecommunications issues. Dr. Jerry Ellig, with the
Mercatus Center at
George Mason University, presented research he
did for the Foundation and explained the benefits of deregulating the industry.
Ray Gifford, president of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, explained why
the advance and convergence of differing technologies is rendering the old
regulatory regime obsolete.
Is The Free Market Working In Homeowners
Insurance?
This panel examined the impact of recent
free-market reforms to the homeowners’ insurance market and the challenges
facing the industry today. Ernst Csiszar, president of the Property Casualty
Insurers of America, discussed the beneficial effects of free market reforms
across the country, specifically in South Carolina, where he had
previously serviced as Insurance Commissioner. Representative John Smithee,
chairman of the House Insurance Committee, listed several unique
characteristics of the homeowners’ insurance market that he believes requires
regulatory oversight. Mike Geeslin, Texas insurance commissioner,
explained the balancing act that the Texas Department of Insurance performs to
allow free market forces to operate while providing the oversight mandated by
law. Finally, Patrick Brockett, director of the Risk Management and
Insurance Program at the University of
Texas, provided findings from
his research that showed the tremendous consumer benefits from a regulatory
system focused on solvency and conduct that lets the market set prices.
Prescription for Medicaid: Principles
and Practical Solutions
This
panel explored Medicaid, offering principles and solutions to the growing
Medicaid crisis. State Representative Dan Gattis put the issue into perspective,
highlighting the program’s pressure on the state budget and the balancing act
state lawmakers face each session. Michael Cannon, CATO Institute, highlighted
the costs, both seen and unseen, estimating the total at more than $400 billion
a year and advocated for a federal block grant to remove some of the politics
of Medicaid funding. Jim
Frogue, Center for
Health Transformation, highlighted the need to transform Medicaid using a more
patient-centered approach and the importance of technology in all health care. Frogue
memorably noted that Hurricane Katrina destroyed countless medical records and
sent patients to seek care without their compiled medical history, while a
Jiffy Lube in Houston could locate the vehicle service records of the same
person’s car without difficulty. Secretary Alan Levine, Florida, Agency for Health Care Administration, provided
highlights of Florida’s Medicaid waiver and the importance of reform,
arguing that the current system delivers poor care and prevents recipients from
making important choices about their care.
What’s Wrong
With Health Care?
This
panel provided a brief explanation of the many challenges facing our health
care system. State Representative Dianne White Delisi, chairman of the House
Public Health Committee, focused on the demographic challenges facing the state
with an aging population, noting that the budget pressures of education and
health care are really about balancing kindergarten and nursing homes. Dr.
Charles Van Eaton, Bryan College, highlighted the impact of third-party payment
on the cost of health care and its role in insulating both patients and providers
from the real cost of care. Dr. John Goodman,
National Center for Policy Analysis, asked the audience to think
about why services—like email and phone consultations—common to other aspects
of their lives are not common in health care, noting again the impact of
third-party payment, as well as lack of competition and an inefficient
financing arrangement. Michael Cannon, CATO Institute, highlighted the
importance of competition in reforming health care, and the importance of
competition to drive quality up and keep cost down.
Tax & Expenditure Limits: Where Do
We Go From Here?
The
panel led off with Senator Tommy Williams explaining how state revenues from
the sales tax have grown greatly since 1978—more than keeping up with inflation
and population. Though the Senator reassured everyone that he is a supporter of
tax and expenditure limits, he showed Medicaid’s astronomical growth in the
state budget, summarizing that we can do little to effectively cap spending
until we get respite from the federal government in Medicaid. He went on to say
that at the local level, governments are taxing people out of their homes. He
explained that the current rollback rate is 8 cents and should be scaled back
to 5 cents and the rollback process should be simplified.
Susan Spataro, Texas Association of Counties, countered that counties are
restricted in their actions by state statute and the constitution. She
continued to explain that counties are very dependent on the property tax
because that is the major source of funding allowed by law, but counties run
the courts and the jails and these are expenditures they cannot directly
control. Economist Barry
Poulson, Ph.D., noted
that Texas’ state expenditure limit is ineffective with the
limit keyed to personal income growth. At the same time, Texas has the 12th highest property tax burden
in the country. Our local property tax limit hasn’t worked well either. Along
with the high potential growth before a rollback election can occur, the
rollback process itself presents a large burden. Reforms such as the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights are about
giving citizens an effective voice in determining how much they will be taxed,
noted Poulson.
Tax Fairness: Rhetoric or Reality?
Senator
Tommy Williams opened the panel by announcing his absolute opposition to an
income tax in Texas. He pointed out that the sales tax is as stable as
any other, and other taxes are just a way to grow government. He said that
Texas should also abolish the franchise tax. Representative
Jim Keffer reviewed recent attempts to achieve tax reform and said the House
has tried to keep a fair balance. The main thing is to reduce property taxes.
Scott McCown, Center for Public Policy Priorities, stated the importance of
government, especially in education, and that appropriate taxation is
essential. He noted that the Supreme Court has said Texas has a statewide property tax due to a lack of
meaningful discretion and that can be addressed, but it will cost money. The
tax system, though, is regressive and this hinders movement into the middle
class. Ultimately, we cannot raise enough money with regressive taxes. John
Fund of the Wall Street Journal
pointed out that people believe in more limited taxation. He has lived in
California and New York where the negative effects from high taxes and big
government are obvious. Fund asked where more taxes and progressive taxes have
ever grown the middle class—but there is no such state or nation. Fairness, he
maintained, is not the major issue. Not all will agree on what is fair.
Instead, the focus should be on a tax system that is simple, comprehensible,
and transparent. It’s good that the property tax is unpopular—due to its
transparency—because it keeps taxes low. The sales tax is transparent. The
income tax is not transparent.
Transportation: Stopping the Transfer
Representative
Mike Krusee described the legislative temptation to raid the transportation
fund to provide money for non-transportation programs. He explained that the
protests regarding toll roads are understandable but that the funding for roads
is not available without them. The prospects for increasing the fuel tax are
nil. Dallas County Judge Margaret Keliher illustrated the amount of funds being
pulled from the transportation fund for other areas such as law enforcement and
courthouse renewal. She also illustrated how much additional roadway could be
constructed with these missing funds. Houston businessman and civic leader
Michael Stevens made a similar presentation to that of Judge Keliher but
dramatized just how far behind Texas is regarding its road needs with the
number of miles traveled in the state increasing far faster than the number of
lane miles of roadway. He agreed with Representative Krusee that toll roads
are necessary under current circumstances. Transportation Commissioner Ric
Williamson made an intellectual case for toll roads and commented that he was
one of the earliest members of the legislature to raid the transportation fund
in creative ways. This, he said, is not going to end. Besides, the
transportation fund cannot provide the means to solve our transportation
problems. We must rely on toll roads and we must make better use of the funds
we have by funding an efficient system and the most needed projects.
Beyond the Big House: Better Alternatives to Prison
This panel began with a
sobering statement of the problem. If policy changes are not made, House
Corrections Chairman Jerry Madden estimated that another 14,000 prison beds
will be needed by 2010, with construction costs alone of over $1 billion. Geraldine
Nagy, Travis County Director of Adult Probation, discussed her implementation
of best practices to reduce prison revocations, such as progressive sanctions,
a lower ratio of probation officers to probationers, and more house visits.
Judge John Creuzot described his innovative drug court in
Dallas County, which has reduced recidivism from 61 to 17 percent. Finally,
Rob Kepple, Executive Director of the Texas District and County Attorneys
Association, offered support for expanding drug courts, intensive probation,
and other reforms to reduce incarceration, but warned that, while such changes
will save money over the long haul, the legislature must make provisions for
transition costs because such effective alternatives, though much less
expensive than prison, cost significantly more than traditional probation.
Water: Are We Leaving the Future of
Texas High and
Dry?
Texas has reached a crossroads in the way it provides and
manages water resources. With the population expected to double in a matter of
decades, and with our water supply limited and allocated to other uses, the era
of cheap and abundant water is over. New ways to provide this critical resource
must be found. Kevin Ward, Executive Director of the Texas Water Development
Board kicked off the panel by discussing the history of water management
in Texas. He outlined the state's water plan, and then
discussed the immense cost in building the infrastructure necessary to move
forward on the plan. Next, Dr. Ron Kaiser, Texas A&M University, spoke about the importance of the free market and
the private sector as it relates to future water policy. He noted that any
bargaining should be done based on protected private property rights. Next,
Senator Ken Armbrister, chairman of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources,
outlined the legislation he authored last legislative session and discussed the
importance of moving forward immediately on planning for our future water
needs. Finally, former Senator J.E. "Buster" Brown, author of SB1 and
SB2 establishing the Water Plan for Texas during previous legislative sessions, gave a brief
history of water legislation in Texas. He concluded by discussing next steps.
School Choice: Free Parents, Achieving Children?
The United States is alone in
the industrialized world in not having some form of school choice. Dr. Jay
Greene of the University of Education Reform began the panel by reviewing the
recent decision in Florida, striking down one of their voucher programs. He then
touched on the research supporting the effectiveness of the school choice in
improving academic performance. Brock Gregg of the Association of Texas
Professional Educators described their concerns about school choice, suggesting
instead that more funds and efforts should be directed at improving public
education. Next, Dr. James Leininger described his concern for children trapped
in failing schools, relating personal incidents as an emergency doctor and later
as a businessman. He pointed to the success of the private voucher program he
and his wife funded in improving education for children in the Edgewood School
District, in San Antonio. Finally, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Michael
Williams discussed his family's history in public and private education, and
said giving parent more academic choices will help improve education overall,
while also increasing the economic competitiveness of the state.