The Texas Public Policy Foundation has announced the panel sessions for its 15th Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature, which begins next Wednesday, January 11, 2017 and runs through Friday, January 13, 2017. This year’s sold-out Policy Orientation takes place at the Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol, and will feature an array of prominent speakers on the major issues affecting the future of both Texas and the rest of the country as we usher in a new Administration. 
 
To view the complete agenda, visit: http://txpo.li/2hOkNGZ
 
For over fourteen years, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Policy Orientation has been one of the nation’s top policy conferences, selling out each year while bringing together lawmakers, policy experts, and engaged citizens from across the political spectrum to discuss critical issues facing the Lone Star State and America. 
 
To register as media please contact Caroline Espinosa at [email protected] or 512-472-2700 or Elizabeth Lincicome at [email protected] or 919-744-8087.
WHO:             Texas Public Policy Foundation
 
WHAT:           15th Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature 
 
WHEN:           January 11-13, 2017 
 
WHERE:         Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol
                        701 East 11th Street
                        Austin, TX 78701
PANEL SESSIONS: 
 
Day 1: Wednesday, January 11, 2017
 
1:30 pm
CONCURRENT POLICY PANELS
 
Building on Success: A Second Conservative Texas Budget?
Senator Lois W. Kolkhorst • Chairman Drew Darby • Representative Cecil Bell, Jr
• Representative Four Price • The Honorable Talmadge Heflin
 
Policing in Texas: Successes, Shortcomings, and a Path Forward
Representative James White • Kevin F. Lawrence • Sheriff (Ret) Currie Myers, PhD, MBA • Randy Petersen
 
What Should Texas Do with a Medicaid Block Grant? 
Dr. Deane Waldman • Mary Katherine Stout • Dr. Vance Ginn • Jamie Dudensing • Representative Stephanie Klick
 
 
3:45 pm
CONCURRENT POLICY PANELS
 
Red River Property Rights: Who is the “Public” that Public Lands Belong To?
The Honorable Rob Henneke • George P. Bush • A. Blair Dunn, Esq. • Representative James Frank • Ann Bright
 
Time to Slam the Brakes on Local Ridesharing Regulations?
Senator Charles Schwertner • James Quintero • April Mims • Mayor Betsy Price
 
Tuition Set-Asides for Low-Income Students: Who Should Foot the Bill?
Dr. Richard Vedder • Dr. Ron Trowbridge • John Colyandro • Dr. Tom Lindsay
 
 
Day 2: Thursday, January 12, 2017
 
9:30 am
CONCURRENT POLICY PANELS
 
Education Savings Accounts: The Solution Texas Needs?
Dr. Patrick Wolf • Thomas Ratliff • Senator Larry Taylor • Dr. Marty Lueken • Stephanie Matthews • Rafa Bejar
 
Lone Star Tomorrow: What Do Texas’s Changing Demographics Tell Us about the Future of State Policymaking?
Corrie MacLaggan • Daniel Garza • Dr. James Henson • Erica Grieder • Dr. Steve Murdock
 
Workers’ Compensation in Texas: Non-Subscribing from Orthodoxy
Bruce C. Wood • Jennifer D. Hurless • Commissioner Ryan Brannan • Bill Peacock
 
 
11:00 am
CONCURRENT POLICY PANELS
 
Change for Children: Reforming Texas’s Child-Welfare System
Representative James Frank • Brandon Logan • Andrew C. Brown • Dr. Wayne Carson • Tymothy L. Belseth
 
Controlling Costs and Correcting Criminals
Bryan Collier • Terry Schuster • Arthur Rizer • Senator Bryan Hughes • Marc Levin
 
Franchise Tax Relief in a Tight Budget Session
 Grover Norquist • Senator Don Huffines • Chairman Jim Murphy • Dr. Vance Ginn
 
Time for a Convention of the States?
 Andrew S. Oldham • Chip Roy • Representative Rick Miller • Mark Meckler
 
 
2:00 pm
CONCURRENT POLICY PANELS
 
Outcomes-Based Funding and Education Excellence
Trevor McGuire • Chairman John M. Zerwas, M.D. • Dr. Richard A. Johnson III • Commissioner Raymund Paredes, Ph.D
 
“Regulation At Any Cost?!” How Small Business Can Work Together to Challenge Regulatory Overreach
Joseph Rajkovacz • Ted Hadzi-Antich • Skip Brown • Chris Pepper • Billy Howe
 
“Web Of Denial:” Climate Intimidation and the Chilling of Climate Science
Andrew M. Grossman • The Honorable Doug Domenech • Attorney General Ken
 
 
3:00 pm
CONCURRENT POLICY PANELS
 
Telehealth: Promise and Problems
Dr. Norman L. Sussman• Nora Belcher • Chairman Jodie Laubenberg • Dr. Ray Callas • Dr.       Deane Waldman
 
Texas and the Rush to Renewables
 Chairman Donna L. Nelson • Tony Bennett • Jeffrey Clark • Senator Craig Estes • The Honorable Kathleen Hartnett White
 
The Californiazation of Texas: Plastic Bag Bans
Phil Rozenski • Lia Colabello • James Quintero • Representative Drew Springer • Robin Schneider
 
 
Day 3: Friday, January 13, 2017
 
9:30 am
CONCURRENT POLICY PANELS
 
Combatting Overcriminalization
Derek Cohen • Vikrant P. Reddy • Representative Matt Rinaldi • Shannon Edmonds • Representative Matt Krause
 
Invisible Government: Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones in Houston
Charles J. Blain • Bryan Mathew • Jim Bigham • Senator Sylvia R. Garcia • Council Member Larry Green
 
What’s an Appropriate Limit on Government Spending?
Dr. John Merrifield • Ursula Parks • Representative Mike Schofield • Senator Kelly Hancock • The Honorable Talmadge Heflin • Dr. Vance Ginn
 
11:00 am
CONCURRENT POLICY PANELS
 
Competition and Stability in the Texas Title Insurance Market
Aaron Day • Doug Deason • Rod Bordelon • Kent Hance • Bill Peacock
 
Not Quite There Yet: Meeting the Rising Demand for Water in Texas
Carlos Rubinstein • Representative Paul D. Workman • Bech Bruun • Megan Ingram
 
School Finance: In Search of Fairness and Transparency
Dr. Wayne Pierce • Dr. Ben Scafidi • Michael Barba • Representative James Frank • Dr. Vance Ginn 
 
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit free-market research institute based in Austin. 
 
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