The issue here isn’t cutting Cactus Café or the informal classes; it’s that UT-Austin chose to cut those programs rather than areas of the budget that would save substantially more money. For this reason, the cut seems suspect. UT-Austin has so many other areas in their budget to cut, and the fact that they chose something students and lawmakers would be upset about raises some red flags for me. Here’s why.

The state leadership’s letter asking state agencies to cut 5% from their budgets specifically states that: “Your plan should represent prudent, efficient reductions that minimize the impact on direct services. For purposes of this review, we expect you to analyze the necessity of all administrative expenses and purchases. Reducing direct services should be your last option, but should be identified, if necessary, in order to meet the 5 percent target.”

If that’s the case, then why is the Cactus Café the first cut that’s been announced?

To be clear, I’m not defending the Cactus Café. It’s just that when spending cuts are proposed, bureaucracies tend to offer up the ones that inflict the most pain on the public first (e.g., closing the Washington Monument on weekends) as a means to protect their turf. That’s certainly what this smells like.

The public should implore UT-Austin to cut the real fat in its budget. This paper lists several ways universities in Texas, particularly UT-Austin, could reform their operations to save substantial sums of money.

- Elizabeth Young ]]>PublicationFri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MSTpush for comprehensive health care reform legislation is on indefinite hold.

The entire process has been on wrong track from the very beginning. Once leaders in Congress saw that the American people generally disapproved of their proposals, rather than taking a step back, they tried to ram through reform using power moves and backroom deals. The entire issue has become so snarled that Congress couldn’t get out of the mess they created for themselves.

Fortunately, President Obama gave Congress an out this week when he proclaimed the new focus of his administration would be job growth. But during the same speech he reiterated his commitment to health care reform.

"As temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan we've proposed," Mr. Obama said in his address. "But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know. Here's what I ask of Congress, though: Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close."

Well, Mr. President, there is a better approach. If Congress is serious about getting a health care bill passed this year, it should abandon its one-government-fits-all designs and instead take its first serious look at the patient-centered health care solutions the Texas Public Policy Foundation has championed all along.

- Elizabeth Young ]]>PublicationFri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MSTCato Institute, federal subsidy programs topped the 2,000 mark for the first time last week. Almost half of those have been created in the last 20 years: the number of federal subsidy programs soared 21 percent during the 1990s and 40 percent during the 2000s.

As Chris Edwards, Cato’s director of tax policy, rather depressingly puts it, “There is a federal subsidy program for every year that has passed since Emperor Augustus held sway in Rome. We’ve gone from bread and circuses to food stamps, the National Endowment for the Arts, and 1,999 other hand-out programs from the imperial city on the Potomac.”

Of course, Washington isn’t alone in the subsidy game. Texas does pretty well too. In addition to the standard economic development programs, Texas is tops in the nation when it comes to renewable energy subsidies. By 2020, Texas consumers could be paying as much $1.3 billion a year to support wind energy—that is in addition to the $300 million or so the Feds are contributing to Texas wind producers. The solar folks are also lining up—the cost of proposed solar subsidies last session ran as high as $220 million. And they’ll all be back in 2011.

It would be nice in this one instance if we could topple Texas from its number one ranking.

- Bill Peacock ]]>PublicationWed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MST Government employees of all ages are tweeting, blogging, friending, and chatting their day through the workweek—but much of this information is inaccessible to the public, violating the spirit of Texas’ Open Records Act.

To help tackle this issue, Dr. Wanda Cash, a guest columnist in the Texas Tribune and a journalism professor at the University of Texas, offers some interesting reform measures for lawmakers to consider this interim.

• Update existing law to include “new definitions that encompass wireless-transmission devices and social media;”
• Consider all e-mail traffic emanating from government servers to be public record—regardless of who owns the electronic device;
• Standardize the length of time all state agencies must keep public data; and
• Apply the same standards that government agencies face under the Open Records Act to privatized government functions.

While the details of Dr. Cash’s open government reforms may need to be fleshed out a bit further to determine their full impact, they certainly give lawmakers something to think about this interim as they go about formulating policy ideas for next session.

With as quickly as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are changing our world, it is important that our state’s public information laws don’t lag too far behind.

- James Quintero ]]>PublicationMon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MSTThe Center for American Progress, an organization TIME Magazine recently dubbed “Obama’s idea factory,” released a paper on higher education entitled “Putting the Customer First in College.”

The report calls on the U.S. Department of Education to create an Office of Consumer Protection in Higher Education that would pressure colleges to produce significantly better data on how well they serve students, develop a system for making that data available for students to use in choosing a college, and direct students unhappy with their college’s educational practices to federal, state, or accrediting officials who can help them resolve their complaints.

A new bureaucracy isn’t needed to accomplish these goals – and may actually make things worse – so I disagree with their proposed means to achieve improved higher education accountability. But despite this disagreement, it seems both sides of the philosophical spectrum agree that the lack of accountability in higher education is a problem in need of addressing. It is also incredibly promising that the Center for American Progress referred to students as university “customers.”

The author of the paper states that “In most sectors of our economy, customer focus is paramount, as it should be in education, too. Customer focus could yield a more student-centric system through the development and dissemination of user-friendly 'truth-in-education' information that helps students make 'best-fit' choices regarding which education provider to select based on customer preferences such as: academic quality, price, convenience, learning style, beginning education level and the anticipated return on their investment in education."

The first step is always admitting there is a problem. Now our elected officials, regardless of party affiliation, should come together to reach a solution. Improving university accountability will empower students, improve educational quality, and allow taxpayers to better track the results their tax dollars yield.

- Elizabeth Young ]]>PublicationFri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MSTcourt-ordered victim restitution in Texas is collected, although the national average is even lower.

Utilizing alternatives to incarceration when the offender does not pose a danger to the public can increase restitution. Consider that in 2008, Texas probationers paid an average of $109 in victim restitution, totaling $46.75 million. This is more than 34 times the restitution paid by each prison inmate. Probationers also performed 9.7 million community service hours, which would be worth $70.3 million based on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Additionally, felony probationers must pay $600 per year in fees plus court costs. Texas has some of the highest fees in the nation, which fund 40 percent of probation department budgets. This burdens indigent probationers – many of whom also owe child support – and creates a fiscal incentive to revoke a greater share of non-paying probationers to prison. In 2008, Texas prison inmates paid a mere $501,000 in total victim restitution, fines, fees, and court costs, an average of only $3.21 per inmate. Parolees did better, paying $1.2 million solely in victim restitution, an average of $15.18 per parolee. Most Texas parolees are employed – indeed the employment rate of Texas parolees exceeds Detroit’s overall employment rate. However, parolees are typically in the limited tier of lowest-wage jobs open to ex-inmates, who average less than an 8th grade achievement level. They often struggle to cover basic housing and nutritional needs. Also, the average inmate who leaves prison owing child support is more than $16,000 in arrears. These children are secondary victims of crime and overreliance on incarceration.

Incarceration is necessary for offenders who pose an ongoing danger to public safety, but two-thirds of offenders entering Texas prisons are non-violent and many county jails are overflowing with non-violent inmates. Incarceration protects the public in many cases, but also severs employment, family, and any religious ties, reducing the likelihood that the victim will receive restitution. The criminal justice system must be brought into fiscal balance with victims treated as consumers.

- Marc Levin ]]>PublicationFri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MST42nd Annual Magnet States Report, which tracks where people are relocating within the United States. Texas remained the top destination for people moving between states. Texas’ net relocation gain was almost 2,000 in 2009, higher than the 1,900 gained in 2008. According to Allied, the movers are singles and families from various backgrounds. Not surprisingly, Allied also did a lot of corporate relocations for some very large companies based in Texas.

A large reason for Texas’ appeal is its favorable tax climate. Texas has no income tax, and holds a competitive advantage over most states due to its minimal tax burden on dividends, capital gains, and corporate income. As Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business stated, “Texas remains the best place in America to live, work, and raise a family.”

For those wondering why states like Pennsylvania, which was the third highest in net relocation losses, continue to lose so many people, the answer lies in their policies. Last year, Pennsylvania spent more on economic development programs than any other state in the nation. Their “economic development” spending was upwards of $754 million. As a direct result of this flurry of government spending, 2,591 people left on Allied Van Lines alone. This result is not surprising.

As pointed out in “Competitive States: Economic Growth Prospects for the 21st Century,” poor economic policies lead to poor economic outcomes. In order to spend money, the government must first take it from the private sector, either through taxes or borrowing. Often, the contribution of the government expenditures to the economy is less than the value of the money to the economy prior to its removal from the private sector. When comparing economic growth in the 10 states with the lowest total state and local taxes per $1,000 of personal income against the 10 states with the highest total state and local taxes per $1,000 of personal income, overall economic growth has been significantly higher in the low-tax states.

When faced with high taxes and job loss, it is no wonder people are moving out of states with large “economic development” packages and into states where they can spend their own money how they choose. If the tax climate in Texas remains the same, we should be on top for a long time to come.

- Ryan Brannan ]]>PublicationTue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:01 MSTEducation Next suggests that instead of trying to fix failing schools, policymakers should close them and allow them to start over.

The author gives several compelling examples of how the best of intentions have not led to better schools. In California, the state targeted the lowest-performing schools for intervention. Three years later, only 11% of those schools made exemplary progress (109 of 968 schools). Ohio recently restructured 52 failing schools and few have met academic goals.

Several studies found similar results. The Center on Education Policy found that less than 15% of schools being restructured in California, Maryland, and Ohio made federal academic goals set by No Child Left Behind (adequate yearly progress). A 2005 report by the Education Commission of the States says that school takeovers “have yet to produce dramatic consistent increases in student performance.”

Thus, there are no best practices on how to improve a persistently failing schools. In fact, the successful charter school network KIPP attempted to turnaround schools and abandoned the effort after only two years.

If the evidence does not point to success, why do school leaders and policymakers continue to push for restructuring a school versus just shutting it down and starting anew? Politics.

It is very hard politically for a school superintendent or a politician to tell their constituents that a school in their community is so bad it is beyond fixing. They take a risk of angering their constituents who may have emotional ties to the school. So, in most cases, it is easier to come up with a list of action items to improve the school versus allowing the school to face the consequences of its mediocre performance and get shut down.

Often ignored in this debate is the best interest of students. Is it in the best interest of the student and their future if they are stuck attending a low-performing schools for several years? Wouldn’t they be better served if they could attend a high-quality school down the street?

Let’s look at the facts and invest our time and resources in what works instead of continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

- Brooke Terry ]]>PublicationTue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MSTtax on shopping bags.

The new 5-cent tax, approved unanimously by the D.C. City Council last June, applies to every disposable paper and plastic bag a customer carries out of businesses that sell food or alcohol. An estimate from the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council puts the cost to Washingtonians at $5 million this year.

Instituting a costly new retail tax, particularly in today’s economy, has the potential to reduce business activity and harm struggling consumers, but supporters insist the cost is worth reducing pollution. History has shown that that is not necessarily the case though.

In 2007, the city of San Francisco banned plastic bags altogether in an attempt to reduce the amount of plastic bag pollution in the city. However, when the city conducted a litter audit, it was “revealed that plastic bag litter remained the same: 0.6% of litter composition.”

While we Texans may be tempted to sit back and watch with bemusement, it wasn’t long ago that we were under similar threat.

During last year’s legislative session, House Bill 1361 would have imposed a tax of “7 cents on each disposable plastic bag provided by a retailer to a customer to carry out purchased items,” but the bill never made it out of committee. You can bet that supporters of HB 1361 are watching the D.C. bag tax experiment closely, hoping that it doesn’t fail like in San Francisco and gives them cover to try again next session.

- James Quintero ]]>PublicationTue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MST Hurricane Rita’s destruction of West Galveston Island moved the vegetation line inland and, with it, the beach.

In 2007, some beachfront property owners, including Carol Severance, were told by the General Land Office that their land was seaward of the new vegetation line and now part of the “public” beach.

At issue is whether the vegetation line’s movement gives the state of Texas a “rolling” easement over the private land that requires property owners to give the public access to their property and perhaps even move their beach houses off of the land.

The legal question is whether there is any such thing as a “rolling” easement, i.e., since the state did not have an easement over the land prior to Hurricane Rita, how can it have one afterward?

In other words, when two pieces of adjacent land now suddenly “overlap,” who gets to use the overlapped portions—property owners or beachgoers? In this case, the answer lies in the courts’ interpretation of the Texas Open Beaches Act (OBA).

Carol Severance has fought her way to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in defense of blocking public access to her land. The Fifth Circuit has asked the Supreme Court of Texas for guidance in helping them understand the application of the OBA. Hinging on the Texas Supreme Court’s response is a large amount of private property and potentially numerous displaced homeowners.

The plain language of the OBA makes clear that it does not create a land interest that was not already in place through an easement created under traditional common law rules. Here, the state has not shown that it had an easement over Carol Severance’s land prior to Hurricane Rita. Since there was no property interest in the land prior to the “overlap,” the OBA should not be used to create one now.

Whose beach is it? We can only hope the Texas Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals find the right answer.

- Ryan Brannan ]]>PublicationMon, 11 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MSTThe Cartel,” followed by a Q&A session with Director Bob Bowdon. This incredible film examines the national education crisis and New Jersey schools through personal stories of student, parents, and teachers, and suggests ways to improve education. Check out the trailer and see for yourself.

The Cartel has won numerous awards at various film festivals including:
• Official Selection at the New Jersey State Film Festival & Philadelphia Independent Film Festival;
• Best Feature Documentary & Audience Choice Award at the Jersey Shore Film Festival;
• Best Full-Length Documentary & Official Selection at the Downbeach Film Festival;
• Silver Screen Award at the Nevada Film Festival; and
• Audience Award at the Hoboken International Film Festival.

Please contact me for more details on the screening or if you are interested in attending.

- Brooke Terry]]>PublicationMon, 11 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MST According to USA Today, the ratio of federal employees making $100,000 or more increased from 14 percent to 19 percent in the first 18 months of the current recession.

One agency with a particularly high concentration of six-figure bureaucrats was the Department of Transportation. “When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000.”

The dramatic salary increases means that the average federal worker now earns an annual salary of $71,206 versus an average annual salary of $40,331 in the private sector.

State and local government employees also saw their pay raised over the last year-and-a-half, though, to be fair, the percent increase (3.9 percent) was on par with that of a private sector employee. Still, the average state and local government employee now earns $54,000 a year, or about $14,000 more than their private sector counterparts.

The growth in public sector wages and compensation is troubling, particularly given the current recession. By taking more and more from those who produce (in the form of higher taxes and increased borrowing) and awarding it (in the form of higher wages and increased benefits) to those in non-productive positions, we are removing the incentive to be productive and slowing our own economic recovery.

- James Quintero ]]>PublicationMon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MST Plans to close lockups often stir opposition in rural areas where the facility is one of the largest employers, though the cities of Dallas and Sugar Land have each sought to redevelop the valuable land on which prisons in their communities sit. Local communities and some of their lawmakers fought the closure of Texas Youth Commission facilities, two more of which will be shuttered in the current biennium.

Prisons have been misused as a bipartisan economic development tool. For example, former Democrat New York Governor Mario Cuomo went on a prison building spree and delivered a prison each to many Republican senators in upstate New York in exchange for support on other measures. Moreover, Cuomo used public housing authority bonds with a higher interest rate than general revenue bonds, a bill that New York taxpayers are still picking up today. This year, the state finally repealed the Rockefeller-era drug laws that fueled this building binge with long prison terms in low-level drug possession cases.

All job losses are regrettable. However, if other agencies are cut instead, jobs will also be lost. Raising taxes may well cost even more jobs as money is drained from the private sector. Furthermore, it’s not the government’s role to create jobs.

However, what’s worse is the harrowing impact of the prison work environment on employees. The prison guard suicide rate is far higher than the general population, and at least anecdotal evidence suggests rates of family violence, depression, alcoholism, and heart attacks are much higher as well. In 2005, 761 Texas prison guards were arrested. Sadly, a prison guard’s life expectancy is only 59, compared to the overall lifespan of 77. Texas guards’ salaries start at $26,000, and many won’t live to collect their retirement, which goes to their survivor.

Given that there are 2,000 prison guard vacancies and still more lower-paying county jail guard vacancies, prison closures in Texas would not necessarily result in job losses, depending on the number of units shuttered. In the larger picture, retraining prison guards in other areas such as probation is preferable to prisons as a jobs program.

- Marc Levin ]]>PublicationMon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 MST The creation of TWIA has pushed private insurers out of the market, while increasing the amount of exposure for the state. TWIA’s total exposure has increased from $13.2 billion in 2001 to $64.2 billion this year. The cumulative impacts of Hurricane Dolly and Hurricane Ike wiped out TWIA’s finances and the recent legislative fixes are not likely to help – there is concern now that TWIA will not be able to sell the first tier of catastrophe bonds. Texans are still trying to put Galveston back together. Another storm would be catastrophic at this point in time.

Misguided concerns for consumers have led to the current homeowners’ and windstorm insurance regulations that have mishandled pricing, increased risk, and kept private companies from investing capital in Texas. A large, diverse group of policy holders is what spreads the risks and minimizes costs, keeping prices competitive and low. Yet these regulations keep pushing us in the other direction. As Bill Peacock points out in his recent op-ed, “Windstorm Insurance Ruling Shows Legislative Reforms Have Failed,” there is a right way and a wrong way to go about helping consumers.

If TWIA returns to its original intent to serve as the market of last resort – instead of today’s first and best option – private companies will want to return to the Texas coastal market. With the private companies’ return, coastal residents will see competitive, lower prices, and enough money in the market to cover homeowners in the case of another major storm.

- Ryan Brannan ]]>PublicationMon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 MST222 economists publicly rejected the Administration’s view that we need to “spend our way out of this recession,” instead insisting that officials focus on solutions that emphasize the free market.

In their statement, the troupe of economists – hailing from a number of prestigious universities, including Harvard, George Mason, and Rice – warn that:

The country’s economic future depends on Congress’ ability to rein in the growth of federal spending. Failing to restrict spending growth will further balloon the national debt, impede economic growth, and threaten the long-term economic health of our Nation. Controlling spending growth to reverse our dangerous debt accumulation can be done without endangering the near-term economic recovery, and will prove beneficial over the longer horizon.

The 2009 near-term “stimulus” has proven to be an inefficient spur to job creation and does not merit repeating. Any further policy efforts should be focused on opening borders to free trade, cutting burdensome regulations, and providing necessary tax relief to employers and employees.

The growing chorus of academics and scholars calling for an end to the Keynesian policies of the Obama Administration is getting hard to ignore. Let’s hope officials in Washington are listening.

- James Quintero ]]>PublicationMon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 MSTU.S. News and World Report recently released its list of the top 100 public high schools in America, including 11 in Texas:

• School for the Talented & Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center
Dallas, TX - Magnet
• School of Science & Engineering Magnet
Dallas, TX - Magnet
• IDEA Quest Academy & College Preparatory
Donna, TX (Rio Grande Valley) - Charter
• KIPP Houston High School
Houston, TX - Charter
• Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions
Houston, TX - Magnet
• YES Prep Southeast
Houston, TX - Charter
• Highland Park High School
Dallas, TX - Traditional
• Carnegie Vanguard High School
Houston, TX - Magnet
• South Texas High School for Health Professions
Mercedes, TX (Rio Grande Valley) - Magnet
• Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
Fort Worth, TX – Charter
• Hidalgo Early College High School
Hidalgo, TX

It is not surprising that charter schools and magnet schools comprise the majority of Texas schools on this list. Charter schools and magnet schools are schools that students “choose” to attend. They offer a variety of educational models ranging from specialized curriculum focusing on a specific area such as math and science or fine arts to having a strong college-going culture.

Hopefully, we will see more high-quality charter schools and magnet schools open in Texas, giving more students the opportunity to attend a high-quality school.

- Brooke Terry ]]>PublicationMon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 MSTNational Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO).

Among the slate of new net tax and fee increases:

• Personal Income Taxes: $10.7 billion
• Sales Taxes: $6.1 billion
• Fees: $5.3 billion
• Other Taxes: $967.8 million
• Cigarette, Tobacco and Alcohol Taxes: $908.1 million
• Alcohol Taxes: $54.1 million
• Motor Fuel Taxes: $42.3 million

NASBO executive director Scott Pattison said the new tax and fee increases represent the “highest tax increases ever,” and that, incredibly, Americans should expect further tax hikes in the near future.

This news is disturbing on a number of fronts. Americans already “pay more in taxes than they will spend on food, clothing and housing combined,” face the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, and are under threat of massive federal tax increases tied to proposed climate change and health care legislation. Add to that even more taxes being collected at the state level, and one begins to wonder if anyone is looking out for the American taxpayer anymore.

- James Quintero ]]>PublicationMon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 MSTAmerican Revolution Center has just released a study that found 83 percent of American adults fail a quiz on America’s founding and the American Revolution. The results of the study are not only alarming but incredibly sad. On the 27-question test within the survey, a national sample of American adults scored an average of only 44 percent correct. Additionally:

• Nearly 83 percent received a failing grade.
• Only four of the 27 questions were answered correctly by 70 percent or more of respondents.
• Many more Americans knew that Michael Jackson authored “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” than knew that James Madison was the Father of the Constitution, or that Alexander Hamilton was the first Treasury Secretary.
• Only 11 percent of Americans could identify John Jay as the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Compare that to the 60 percent who knew the number of children of Jon and Kate Gosselin, a reality-TV show couple.
• More than 50 percent of Americans wrongly attributed the quote “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” to either George Washington, Thomas Paine, or President Barack Obama, when it is in fact a quote from Karl Marx, author of The Communist Manifesto.
• One-third did not know that the right to a jury trial is covered in the Bill of Rights, while 40 percent mistakenly thought that the right to vote is.

The study also found, in addition to the alarming lack of basic American Civics knowledge, that Americans think it is important that citizens do know the history and principles of America’s founding and the American Revolution and that this information is taught in school.

- Elizabeth Young ]]>PublicationThu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 MST In the Texas Department of Public Safety’s budget, Goal C. is to “Prevent and Reduce Crime.” However, the sole performance measure within this goal for each division is the number of arrests. It doesn’t matter if the arrest is of a drug kingpin or murderer, or a person with a joint. Similarly, in the proposed 2009-10 budget for the Dallas Police Department, performance measures for the narcotics division are total arrests, investigations conducted, and operations/investigations per full-time equivalent employee.

The San Antonio Police Department’s proposed budget commendably includes targeted clearance rates for property crime (11.5%) and violent crime (32.8%), although these numbers suggest too many resources may be devoted to arrests for the most minor crimes as opposed to solving more crimes that severely harm victims.

Fort Worth is the best among major Texas cities. Four of its five police department budget performance measures, are result- and victim-oriented. They are the serious violent and property crime rate, percent of violent crimes solved, percent of property crimes solved, and rate of traffic fatality accidents. (You’ll notice that arrests are not included.) Outside of Texas, Washington D.C. has measured victim satisfaction.

Many policing activities are actually proven to prevent crime, leading to fewer arrests.

State agencies like DPS can propose new performance measures in the spring and many Texas cities are adopting their budgets, presenting an opportunity to improve law enforcement effectiveness through better performance measures.

- Marc Levin ]]>PublicationThu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 MSTthe Leadership Circle.

The program – considered to be the first part of a two-step, carrot-and-stick approach – spotlights local governments in Texas that are “opening their books to the public; providing clear, consistent pictures of spending; and sharing information in a user-friendly format that lets taxpayers easily drill down for more information.”

Program participation is free and local governments even score themselves, though the results are verified by the Comptroller’s office. Based on the participant’s answers and the extent to which they have embraced transparency, one of three awards are given:

- Gold: Awarded to government entities that are “setting the bar in their transparency efforts;”
- Silver: Presented to those making progress; and
- Bronze: Given to those just starting the process.

The Leadership Circle’s first winners include: City of Tyler (Gold), Smith County (Gold), Tyler ISD (Gold), Arp ISD (Bronze), Chapel Hill ISD (Bronze), and Lindale ISD (Bronze).

Recognizing cities, counties, and school districts – like those listed above – is a great, low-cost way to reward local officials for their efforts. But even more importantly, the program helps keep the transparency issue in the public eye. And if the transparency movement is going to continue to be a force for good government, the public must constantly see it and demand it.

- James Quintero ]]>Publication