TPPF statement on passage of over-criminalization bill

On the closing days of the 84th session, the House and the Senate overwhelmingly adopted the Conference Report on HB 1396, which codifies the rule of lenity, a long held canon of statutory interpretation that instructs a judge, as a matter of law, to interpret objective ambiguities in criminal law in favor of the defendant. HB 1396 also creates a commission to study potentially unnecessary criminal penalties for activities not traditionally criminalized; codifies the recent U.S. Supreme Court case, Riley v. California, which states that law enforcement must obtain a warrant in order to access a telephone; places theft value thresholds in line with modern-day inflation values; and provides docket preference to cases where the victim is under the age of 14.

Press Release June 1, 2015

TPPF statement on Texas Legislature passage of truancy decriminalization

Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Effective Justice Director Marc Levin and Senior Policy Analyst Derek Cohen issued the following statements on the Texas Legislature’s passage of House Bill 2398.

Press Release May 30, 2015

TPPF statement on raise the age amendment to juvenile justice reform bill

The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Director of the Center for Effective Justice, Marc Levin, issued the following statement concerning SB 1630, which aims to reform the juvenile justice system by increasing accountability and helping to keep youth out of the adult corrections system. The amendment is the subject of negotiations between the House and Senate on an amendment to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction.

Press Release May 30, 2015

TPPF statement on the Texas Legislature’s passage of the 2016-17 budget

The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy, the Honorable Talmadge Heflin, issued the following statement congratulating the 84th Texas Legislature for passing a conservative Texas budget. The budget increases in all funds, including federal funds of 3.6 percent to $209.4 billion and state funds of 5.8 percent to $141.4 billion, are below the Conservative Texas Budget Coalition’s recommended 6.5 percent spending limit based on population growth plus inflation.

Press Release May 29, 2015

TPPF statement on the Conference Committee’s 2016-17 budget report

The Texas Public Policy Foundation released a statement in support of the 2016-17 budget as developed by the Conference Committee. The budget increases in all funds, including federal funds, of 3.6 percent to $209.4 billion and state funds of 5.8 percent to $141.4 billion are below the recommended 6.5 percent spending limit based on population growth plus inflation.  

Press Release May 28, 2015

Conservative Texas Budget Coalition statement on 2016-17 budget

The Conservative Texas Budget Coalition issued the following statements in support of the Conference Committee’s Report for House Bill 1. This is the final 2016-17 Texas budget that will be voted up or down by both chambers. The increases in all funds of 3.6 percent to $209.4 billion and state funds of 5.8 percent to $141.4 billion are below the Coalition’s recommendation of a 6.5 percent spending limit based on population growth plus inflation.

Press Release May 28, 2015

TPPF statement on transportation planning reform legislation

Vice President of Policy for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, The Hon. Chuck DeVore, issued the following statement on the Texas Senate passage last night of House Bill 20, which would reform planning processes at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

Press Release May 28, 2015

TPPF statement on EPA’s definition of “waters of the U.S.”

The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Kathleen Hartnett White, Distinguished Senior Fellow-in-Residence and the Director Armstrong Center for Energy and the Environment issued the following statement on yesterday’s action by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to finalize the Clean Water Act Rule, which redefines “the waters of the United States” under the federal Clean Water Act.

Press Release May 28, 2015

TPPF statement on House passage of state employee health care choice legislation

Director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s (TPPF) Center for Health Care Policy John Davidson issued the following statement on the Texas House passage today of House Bill 966, which would allow state employees the option of choosing a high deductible health plan coupled with a health savings account.

Press Release May 27, 2015

New Texas employment report for April shows the unemployment rate remains at lowest level since July 2007

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released state-level labor market data for April 2015. The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Fiscal Policy Economist Dr. Vance Ginn issued the following statement.

Press Release May 27, 2015

TPPF statement on House Committee Substitute for CSSB 19

The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Executive Director Arlene Wohlgemuth this morning issued this statement on the House Committee Substitute for CSSB 19, which will be considered by the full Texas House of Representatives today.

Press Release May 26, 2015

TPPF statement on the Texas Senate passing franchise tax cut

The Texas Senate yesterday passed the Committee Substitute for House Bill 32 that provides $2.6 billion in business franchise tax cuts by permanently reducing the tax rates by 25 percent and raising the ceiling to $20 million to file the EZ form at a lower 0.331 percent tax rate.  The Foundation’s Center for Fiscal Policy Economist Dr. Vance Ginn issued a statement.

Press Release May 25, 2015