AUSTIN –The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Local Governance Senior Policy Analyst Jess Fields issued the following statement on the Texas House’s passage of House Bill 114, which would limit the use of capital appreciation bonds, which are risky financing mechanisms often requiring a lump sum repayment greatly exceeding the original amount borrowed.
“After seeing the problems that capital appreciation bonds pose to tomorrow’s taxpayers, the Texas House took important steps today to limit their use,” said Fields. “House Bill 114 ensures that there are limits on how much debt can be issued as capital appreciation bonds, and that transparency measures are in place to improve the public’s access to what’s really going on with their local debt. While we would prefer to see capital appreciation bonds outlawed entirely, House Bill 114 is an important step forward for taxpayers.”
To schedule an interview with Mr. Fields, please contact Caroline Espinosa at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
The Hon. Jess Fields is the Senior Policy Analyst in the Center for Local Governance at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a former College Station City Councilman.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.