AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Public Policy Foundation will this week launch a new service for the state, Texas PolicyCast. This weekly audio program will focus on policy issues facing the state. “It’s our hope that this convenient tool will give busy Texans an opportunity to learn more about the important issues facing the Lone...
Press Release March 16, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – While some would like to see the debate over whether taxes are regressive or progressive take center stage in the tax policy debate, it is arguable that there are far more important issues at stake. Tax incidence – the identification of who is truly impacted by a tax – has been the...
Press Release March 13, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – Consolidation has dramatically reduced the number of school districts in Texas and other states during the past century. However, research has furnished little evidence that consolidation controls costs or improves academic achievement as well as a system of shared service agreements. In a recent ruling on West Orange-Cove, the Texas Supreme Court...
Press Release March 3, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – Texas is loaded up on telecom taxes. Although a national leader in telecom deregulation, through measures like the statewide video franchise, Texas is also a national leader in telecommunications taxes. Texas consumers pay an average tax of over 29% on their monthly phone bills – local governments take about 11.32%, the state...
Press Release February 23, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – Public school accreditation is a bargain that involves public trust and government assurance. People allow government to compel enrollment in, as well as exact financial support for, public schools; in return the state legislature assures educational quality. “For many Texans, this trade is based on the presumption that state law sets a...
Press Release February 13, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn today announced $4.3 billion in estimated surplus. This money should be used to buy down the state’s property tax rate according to the Texas Public Policy Foundation president. “Lawmakers can provide taxpayers up to 39 cents in meaningful property tax cuts, and do so without hurting anyone. Everyone...
Press Release February 8, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – In the first of a series of reports examining the state budget, the former House Appropriations chairman says the state must develop a strong accountability system to be able to track future expenditures. The series by Talmadge Heflin, a visiting research fellow for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, will examine the state...
Press Release January 31, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – More than a dozen issues will be covered by leading lawmakers and recognized experts from across the political and ideological spectrum when the Fourth Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature kicks off on Monday. Hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the event draws large crowds interested in discussing the pressing...
Press Release January 5, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – With exploding health care costs driving growth in the state’s economy, the Texas Public Policy Foundation announced today that former state representative Arlene Wohlgemuth would assist the organization’s policy work in Medicaid reform. “As a legislator, I admired the Foundation’s work in promoting sensible reforms driven by a desire to improve Texas...
Press Release December 29, 2005AUSTIN, Texas – With the Fourth Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature a month away, the Texas Public Policy Foundation today announced the keynote speakers and panel topics that will be featured in the event. The Policy Orientation will be held January 9 and 10, 2006, at the Austin Capitol Marriot. Registration is available...
Press Release December 8, 2005AUSTIN, Texas – While various methods of evaluating pay paint different pictures of teacher compensation in Texas compared to the rest of the states, a new study shows the current system fails to meet the needs of teachers, schools and students. How lawmakers decide to revamp the system, if at all, will have important consequences...
Press Release December 6, 2005AUSTIN, Texas – Standard & Poor's, the financial data firm, has issued a report that runs counter to a large body of research on the effectiveness of standards for school spending. S&P reported that there was no relationship between allotment of dollars to the classroom, and academic achievement. The director of research for the Texas...
Press Release November 23, 2005