AUSTIN – The Texas House of Representatives will today consider Senate Bill 14, an education-debt transparency bill that will help shine a light on state and local government spending and debt. The Texas Public Policy Foundation urges Members to pass this much-needed legislation.

“We live in the Information Age, but when it comes to Texas local governments, there is a dearth of information on finances,” said Talmadge Heflin, Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy, “Not only does this deprive citizens of information they deserve, it also contributes to excessive spending and debt in our cities, towns, counties, and communities.”

Heflin continued, “The absence of basic financial data and its repercussions on spending and debt were explained by the Texas Comptroller in a series of reports called Texas, It’s Your Money. These reports feature a wealth of information on local spending and debt, and show the consequences of keeping Texans in the dark. One report in particular, Your Money and Education Debt, should be especially eye-opening for lawmakers as they consider SB 14. The report reveals that a lack of information about public education spending and debt has led to the growth of K-12 payroll and debt service payments far in excess of enrollment. Most Texans would be stunned to know just how far apart these cost curves are, but they don’t have this information at their fingertips-yet.”

[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”11597″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”298″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”399″}}]]

 

The Honorable Talmadge Heflin is Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Heflin served 11 terms in the Texas House of Representatives and chaired the House Appropriations Committee in 2003, leading the Texas Legislature’s successful efforts to close a $10 billion budget deficit without a tax increase.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.

Primary website: www.TexasPolicy.com
Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/TexasPublicPolicyFoundation
Twitter feed: www.Twitter.com/TPPF

 

“