AUSTIN, Texas – While Texans were understandably suspicious of claims that state legislators could balance the budget without a tax hike or undue cuts to essential services, lawmakers did just that on Monday, said the president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Budget conferees finished work on the 2004-05 budget Monday after a weekend conference...
Press Release May 27, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – While the Texas Senate is to be congratulated for taking an important step on school finance with its vote to restructure the funding mechanism, the Texas Public Policy Foundation said today legislators must not rush to simply “fix the numbers.” “History should remind us that for every idea on school finance, there...
Press Release May 8, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – With less than a month left in the 78th Legislative Session, Texas Public Policy Foundation President Brooke Leslie Rollins said at a press conference today that legislators should be encouraged to think innovatively about the challenges facing education: “As we raise the bar in Texas public schools and tighten education budgets, we...
Press Release May 6, 2003Dr. Red Duke and Dr. Denton Cooley Say Damage Caps Will Help All Texans (Photographs from the press conference are available here.) AUSTIN, Texas – With some of the medical profession’s most recognizable faces in attendance, the Texas Public Policy Foundation today unveiled its newest research report, “Critical Condition: How Lawsuit Abuse Is Hurting Health...
Press Release April 29, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – Following a briefing at the Governor’s Mansion, the president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation said that taxpayers, not special interests, are being protected by the state’s leadership. “Since 1978, the state budget has risen more than 600 percent, and has increased almost 125 percent in just the last decade. The taxpayers...
Press Release April 23, 2003(Photographs from the reception are available in the photo gallery.) AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Public Policy Foundation today presented awards to the 78th Legislative Session's policy leaders and heroes. "These men and women have served the people of Texas with distiniction," said Wendy Gramm, Ph.D., chairman of the Foundation's Board of Directors. "We...
Press Release April 21, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – Saying the time has come for campaign promises to become legislative reality, the president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation joined with other conservative leaders in praising the House leadership for holding the line on spending. “Texans have a healthy suspicion of politicians, but hopefully this Legislature is going to prove the...
Press Release April 16, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – Under legislation in both the Texas House and Senate, Texans could face onerous new regulations that will stifle the insurance market, eventually leading to even higher prices and less availability across the state. These are the findings of a study released this week to the Texas Legislature by the former director –...
Press Release April 1, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – As military action began in Iraq, the following statement was issued by Brooke Rollins, president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation: "Even as the military action gets underway, we at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offer our support to the president, members of Congress and other national and state leaders. We join...
Press Release March 20, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – As the Texas House today considered the omnibus tort reform package sponsored by State Rep. Joe Nixon of Houston, the president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation said passage will put the Lone Star State well ahead of its economic competitors. “Significant tort reform is long over-due,” said Brooke Leslie Rollins, herself...
Press Release March 19, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – Testifying before the Texas House Committee on Public Education, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s director of education research said Tuesday that the time for school vouchers is long overdue. “The great myth is that vouchers are some kind of experiment,” said Chris Patterson. “When Texas established the public schools in 1876, it...
Press Release March 18, 2003AUSTIN, Texas – When the Governor delivered his State of the State address today, he was right to take tax increases off the legislative table, according to a spokesman for the state’s leading policy think tank. “A tax increase to solve our economic and budget problems is like removing someone’s heart because they have low...
Press Release February 11, 2003