AUSTIN, TX – Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Local Governance Director James Quintero testified today before the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations on Interim Charge #6 dealing with improving accountability in the issuance of local government debt.
“Local government debt in Texas has reached a staggering level,” said Quintero. “In fiscal year 2015, total local debt soared to more than $338 billion, putting every man, woman, and child in the Lone Star State on the hook for $12,250 for his or her share of government excess. It’s critical that the next Legislature take steps to reverse this troubling trend with targeted reforms to improve transparency and accountability in the system.”
To read the latest research on local government debt, see the June 2016 publication Red Ink Rising in the Lone Star State.
For more information or to request an interview with Mr. Quintero, please contact Caroline Espinosa at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
James Quintero is Director of the Center for Local Governance at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.