AUSTIN—On Friday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion in response to a request by Representative James White regarding the scope of parental rights. The opinion affirms that “the interest parents possess with regard to their children is a fundamental liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Attorney General Paxton’s opinion...
Press Release February 27, 2019AUSTIN— Today, Life:Powered delivered a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott refuting extreme claims about catastrophic climate change in response to the “ludicrous” predictions made by a group of Texas academics. Life:Powered has offered to meet with Gov. Abbott to balance out the call for draconian policies that will significantly increase taxes and energy costs and...
Press Release February 26, 2019AUSTIN—Today, Texas Public Policy Foundation commends the filing of SB 943/HB 2189 by Texas Sen. Kirk Watson and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione. The purpose of the bill is to restore transparency to state and local government contracting, which was drastically reduced by a pair of 2015 rulings from the Texas Supreme Court. “The opening preamble of...
Press Release February 21, 2019WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Honorable John N. Hostettler, who served in the U.S. House from 1995 to 2007 representing Indiana’s Eighth District, has signed on as Vice President for Federal Affairs for States Trust, a new initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. States Trust focuses on addressing the nation’s toughest challenges through state-based solutions and restoring...
Press Release February 20, 2019AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the policy brief, The Rollback Rate: Legislative Intent & Inflation. “Local government budgets shouldn’t grow faster than the taxpayer’s ability to keep up with them,” said Mikael Garcia, director of Public Affairs at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “That’s why the rollback rate was created in the...
Press Release February 19, 2019AUSTIN— The Texas Public Policy Foundation submitted its response to the State Bar of Texas’ request for opinion on the effect of the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Janus v. Am. Fed’n of State, Cty., & Mun. Employees, Council 31, regarding the constitutionality of the state bar’s assessment of attorney dues used for political...
Press Release February 19, 2019AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the research paper, The Broad-Based Preemption Spark: Mandatory Paid Sick Leave. “Big government schemes threaten to upend the Texas Model and replace it with a California-style Nightmare,” said Think Local Liberty’s Director James Quintero. “The State Legislature must rein in local officials before they fully erode the...
Press Release February 14, 2019AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Vice President of Criminal Justice Marc Levin will provide invited testimony before the House Corrections Committee. “I look forward to sharing our recommendations based on the research we have done that demonstrates how Texas can further enhance public safety and control costs to taxpayers,” said Levin. “We greatly...
Press Release February 14, 2019AUSTIN— Today, Senior Education Policy Advisor Kara Belew testified before members of the House Committee on Public Education on the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s public education plan, Right on Education: Texas’ Agenda to Restore Money to the Classroom and Eliminate the Main School Property Tax. “The key components of the TPPF public education agenda are...
Press Release February 13, 2019AUSTIN— Today, Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Senior Education Policy Advisor Kara Belew will provide invited testimony before the House Committee on Public Education. “Pouring billions of dollars into a broken system is not a responsible use of taxpayer dollars nor will it improve student results,” said Belew. “To improve student outcomes, school boards and districts need...
Press Release February 13, 2019AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the paper, Reforming the Use of Child Abuse Pediatric Teams in Child Protective Cases. Andrew Brown, director of the Center for Families and Children, offered the following statement: “Medical professionals with relevant expertise have an important role to play in protecting children from abuse by conducting objective...
Press Release February 12, 2019Austin—Today, the Senate Committee on Property Tax voted Senate Bill 2, the Property Tax Reform and Relief Act of 2019, out of committee to send before the Texas Senate. “Skyrocketing property taxes are hurting families, forcing businesses to close, and causing slower economic growth,” said Ellen Troxclair, former Austin City Councilmember and senior fellow with...
Press Release February 11, 2019