AUSTIN, TX – Earlier today, the House Committee on Elections was issued an interim charge to “evaluate options to improve the transparency of local bond elections.” Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Local Governance Director James Quintero issued the following statement on the interim charge on local debt:
“Texas’ local governments are awash in a sea of red ink. According to the latest debt data, local governments—or more appropriately the taxpayers that support them—owe a total of $338.4 billion, or roughly $12,250 owed per Texan. That’s an enormous amount of debt owed by current and future generations, and the hole is only getting deeper.
“Fueling Texas’ local debt growth is the fact that voters aren’t provided with enough information at the ballot box to make an informed decision about new debt propositions. Without an informed electorate, Texas will never be able to get a handle on its mammoth local debt problem. It’s encouraging to see the Texas House also take an interest in studying this issue further during the interim.”
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.