AUSTIN, 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, 2005AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Supreme Court today issued their ruling on the state’s school finance system, calling for a complete overhaul. In their ruling, the court took to task an inefficient system rife with “constitutional challenges,” noting that simply “pouring more money into the system may forestall those challenges, but only for a time.”...
Press Release November 22, 2005The Fourth Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature — January 9 & 10, 2006 — brings together lawmakers, policy experts and interested citizens to discuss the most critical issues facing the state. Panel topics include: School Choice Teacher Pay Education Spending Eminent Domain Telecommunications Homeowners’ Insurance Medicaid Healthcare Tax & Spending Restorative Justice Water...
Press Release November 16, 2005AUSTIN, Texas – With the state budget increasing 18.7 percent over last biennium, Texas taxpayers are left wondering where the money is going. To answer that question the former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee will lead a comprehensive budget study of the state’s budget, announced Texas Public Policy Foundation president Brooke Rollins. Talmadge Heflin...
Press Release November 14, 2005