AUSTIN— Today, a coalition of conservative groups called on the Texas legislature to support measures that would significantly limit or eliminate the ability of local governments to use taxpayer dollars to pay for lobbyists. In the last session, local Texas governments spent some $41 million of taxpayer money on contract lobbyists. A poll taken last December...
Press Release March 13, 2019AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Workforce Commission released labor market data for Texas in January 2019. Vance Ginn, Ph.D., senior economist and director of the Center for Economic Prosperity at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, issued the following statement: “Texas continues to be the beacon of job creation to support greater prosperity for Texans across the state....
Press Release March 8, 2019Austin— Today, Right on Crime, an initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, released a policy perspective on mandatory drug sentencing in Arizona—All Talk and No Action: Arizona’s Mandatory Drug Sentencing. Arizona has some of the strictest mandatory drug sentencing laws in the country, yet the research shows that mandatory prison time does not reduce...
Press Release March 5, 2019AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, published the paper Intermittent Generation Comes to Texas: The High Cost of Renewable Energy. “Low average power prices rooted in the subsidized growth of renewable energy are at variance with rationales for competitive markets,” said the paper’s author Robert Michael, Ph.D. “Texas ought to address the economic inefficiency of renewables...
Press Release March 4, 2019AUSTIN– Today, the Senate Committee on State Affairs voted 5-1 to pass Senate Bill 15, the Consistent Employment Regulations Act, on to the full Senate. “With the passage of this bill out of committee, Texans are one step closer to a freer, more competitive economy that will benefit everyone,” said Think Local Liberty’s Shelby Sterling....
Press Release February 28, 2019AUSTIN—On Friday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion in response to a request by Representative James White regarding the scope of parental rights. The opinion affirms that “the interest parents possess with regard to their children is a fundamental liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” Attorney General Paxton’s opinion...
Press Release February 27, 2019AUSTIN— Today, Life:Powered delivered a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott refuting extreme claims about catastrophic climate change in response to the “ludicrous” predictions made by a group of Texas academics. Life:Powered has offered to meet with Gov. Abbott to balance out the call for draconian policies that will significantly increase taxes and energy costs and...
Press Release February 26, 2019AUSTIN—Today, Texas Public Policy Foundation commends the filing of SB 943/HB 2189 by Texas Sen. Kirk Watson and Rep. Giovanni Capriglione. The purpose of the bill is to restore transparency to state and local government contracting, which was drastically reduced by a pair of 2015 rulings from the Texas Supreme Court. “The opening preamble of...
Press Release February 21, 2019WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Honorable John N. Hostettler, who served in the U.S. House from 1995 to 2007 representing Indiana’s Eighth District, has signed on as Vice President for Federal Affairs for States Trust, a new initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. States Trust focuses on addressing the nation’s toughest challenges through state-based solutions and restoring...
Press Release February 20, 2019AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the policy brief, The Rollback Rate: Legislative Intent & Inflation. “Local government budgets shouldn’t grow faster than the taxpayer’s ability to keep up with them,” said Mikael Garcia, director of Public Affairs at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “That’s why the rollback rate was created in the...
Press Release February 19, 2019AUSTIN— The Texas Public Policy Foundation submitted its response to the State Bar of Texas’ request for opinion on the effect of the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Janus v. Am. Fed’n of State, Cty., & Mun. Employees, Council 31, regarding the constitutionality of the state bar’s assessment of attorney dues used for political...
Press Release February 19, 2019AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation published the research paper, The Broad-Based Preemption Spark: Mandatory Paid Sick Leave. “Big government schemes threaten to upend the Texas Model and replace it with a California-style Nightmare,” said Think Local Liberty’s Director James Quintero. “The State Legislature must rein in local officials before they fully erode the...
Press Release February 14, 2019