This week, the Texas Senate fully passed HB 900, also known as the READER Act. READER, which stands for “Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources,” would prevent school libraries from providing sexually explicit materials to students. “Schools should not expose, intentionally or accidentally, students to graphic sexual material,” said Austin Prochko, deputy campaign manager of...
Press Release May 25, 2023The Texas Public Policy Foundation applauds the full Senate passage of HB 7, important border security legislation that will give additional tools to the state of Texas to rein in the crisis at our southern border while the federal government continues to fail Texans and Americans. “We commend Chairman Birdwell and Chairman Guillen for working...
Press Release May 24, 2023Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation celebrated the passage of House Bill 4390. Currently, a new industry-recognized apprenticeship program (IRAP) cannot operate and receive funding in Texas without first conforming to the rules and regulations set by the U.S. Department of Labor. This legislation will allow our Texas Workforce Commission to certify new programs as...
Press Release May 24, 2023On Tuesday, the Texas Senate fully passed House Bill 14, a bill to allow for third-party review of development plans and permits if municipalities exceed reasonable deadlines. The bill promises to speed up the development process and allow market forces to create supply and meet demand. “Free-market policies are the key to solving Texas’ housing...
Press Release May 24, 2023In the latest U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Biden border crisis, retired Chief of the United States Border Patrol and current TPPF Senior Distinguished Fellow for Border Security Rodney Scott explained his experience seeing over three decades of border security gains being dismantled and the path he prescribes for regaining the border security...
Press Release May 23, 2023Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation celebrated the final passage of Senate Bill 614, legislation that will ensure that no Texas families are separated without proper court oversight and bring greater transparency to the child protection system. The bill now heads to Governor Abbott for his signature. “Senate Bill 614 addresses a little-known part of...
Press Release May 22, 2023Today, the Senate Education Committee voted out their version of HB 100, which would improve teacher pay, increase public school funding, codify open enrollment practices, and introduce an Education Savings Account program (ESA) eligible to 5.7 million Texas children. Mandy Drogin, campaign director for TPPF’s Next Generation Texas initiative, released the following statement: “This is...
Press Release May 22, 2023Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation celebrates the passage of House Bill 1859 and 1391, two pieces of legislation that will ensure that Texans will have alternative paths to licensure for skilled labor positions in demand across the state. “House Bills 1391 and 1859 will be instrumental in ensuring that Texas has the workforce it...
Press Release May 19, 2023Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation applauds the passage of House Bill 3053, a bill that allows select communities to hold an election on the question of disannexation if they were unfairly captured during a particular time period. We are encouraged by this critical legislation and the opportunities it creates for future disannexation reform. However,...
Press Release May 17, 2023Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation applauds the passage of House Bill 2127. Texas is currently running under a patchwork of inconsistent regulations, and this is harming business growth and often comes into conflict with the rights of private citizens. This legislation seeks to establish regulatory consistency across the state by precluding municipalities and counties...
Press Release May 16, 2023With the Texas Senate set to consider SB 17, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Senior Fellow Carol Swain released the following statement : “Texas is poised to restore nondiscrimination and equal opportunity in its public universities. SB17 will eliminate all so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion departments and programs, making it the strongest anti-DEI law in...
Press Release May 15, 2023As the House Public Education Committee prepares to consider the committee substitute version of SB 8, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Greg Sindelar released the following statement: “The new version of SB 8 will be unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of Texans, especially the millions of Texas parents and children who are left behind. It...
Press Release May 14, 2023