Budget and school finance expert Kara Belew joins TPPF

Attracting the top talent in the policy world has long been a staple of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Hiring Kara Belew continues that tradition, as she is a leading authority on school finance reform, innovation in education, and making good policies for what is most important — our 6 million Texas schoolchildren. Kara will make a huge difference on policy, and therefore, on the lives of our children. We are privileged she has joined our team.

Press Release May 1, 2018

Does a carbon tax support prosperity?

Market decisions of millions of people generally provide better, more efficient outcomes than decisions by a select few in government. Calls for a carbon tax are based on flawed assumptions and climate models that have been highly inaccurate. Congress and state legislatures should not hinder our economic and environmental prosperity with a carbon tax.

Press Release April 30, 2018

Austin faces billion-dollar pension crisis

Austin’s largest local retirement system is in serious trouble. By its own standards, the City of Austin Employees’ Retirement System’s unfunded liabilities totaled $1.3 billion in 2016, an increase of $875 million over 10 years. Under a more realistic set of standards, the pension debt is likely closer to $2.4 billion, and growing fast. That fiscal imbalance not only calls into question the long-term sustainability of the plan but also suggests that both taxpayers and retirees are in harm’s way under the status quo.

Press Release April 26, 2018

TPPF Joins Texas Comptroller, CPPP, and TexPIRG to Call for Greater Government Transparency

Texas once led the nation in government transparency, but today’s Texans are increasingly kept in the dark about how their government operates. This is especially true at the local level where economic development deals are negotiated behind closed doors, chambers of commerce are used to circumvent open government laws,  and important public information is kept out of reach. It’s time for lawmakers to revise the Public Information Act and return Texas to the top.  

Press Release April 26, 2018

TPPF joins suit against ObamaCare

The U.S. Supreme Court has already held that the individual mandate absent the tax penalty is unconstitutional. Now that Congress has set the tax penalty at zero, it no longer performs the essential function of a tax, which is to generate revenue for the federal government. Under the Supreme Court's own analysis in the NFIB v. Sebulius case, there is no remaining legal basis on which to uphold the individual mandate, which cannot be severed from the Affordable Care Act as a whole. By joining this lawsuit, the Foundation seeks to accomplish what Congress has failed to do — fully strike down this unconstitutional law.

Press Release April 25, 2018

Business coalition challenges Austin’s burdensome and unconstitutional paid sick leave ordinance

With its mandatory paid sick leave ordinance, the City of Austin once again violates Texas state law and infringes upon the rights of Austin businesses protected by the Texas Constitution. The City’s ordinance is preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act. Furthermore, the City lacks evidence to support any legitimate governmental interest that would support imposing this regulatory burden on all business owners.

Press Release April 24, 2018

TPPF Applauds Paxton’s Opinion On Property Reappraisal After Harvey

Texas’ disaster reappraisal laws are meant to aid disaster recovery efforts in a way that promotes good fiscal stewardship. We applaud the Texas Attorney General for issuing an opinion that follows the intent of the law and that protects taxpayers still recovering from Hurricane Harvey.

Press Release April 23, 2018

New jobs report shows Texas is jobs creation leader in March

Even as more people continue to move to Texas, primarily from states with high taxes and high costs of living, employers in the Lone Star State continue to keep pace with hiring. Economic prosperity comes in many forms, but one of the best predictors is having a job. The Texas Legislature and local governments should remove barriers to entrepreneurship so even more Texans can find a job and prosper.

Press Release April 20, 2018

Alternative Response to Traditional CPS Investigations

About 70 percent of all children in foster care are there not because of physical abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect or medical neglect. The most frequent cause of CPS involvement is not abuse but parental unemployment, housing instability and substance abuse—conditions worsened, rather than solved, by a traditional investigative response. Oftentimes, at-risk families need minimal, targeted assistance from their communities to ensure child safety.  

Press Release April 19, 2018

Competency-based education can improve access, affordability and results

Our studies, which focus on nursing and teaching degrees, find competency-based programs may be more attainable for students, thereby creating more opportunity for students and the employers looking to fill these roles. Competency-based education allows students to progress at their own pace, with greater flexibility and often at less cost.

Press Release April 10, 2018

TPPF stands for rights of short-term rental owners and guests

This court has long protected the notion that a person’s home is their castle, whether they be an owner, tenant, or guest. TPPF seeks this court’s protection against infringement of short-term rental owners and guests’ most personal, constitutionally protected rights to privacy, assembly, association, freedom from unreasonable searches, due course of law, and equal protection all infringed upon by Austin’s short-term rental ordinance. Appellants have toiled to build their short-term rental endeavors and enjoyed the liberty to provide a peaceful home for their tenants and guests. None of the appellants have ever had a complaint made against them related to their short-term rental, nor does the data show that short-term rentals within the City of Austin present a public nuisance. As such, the appellate court should protect our clients’ rights to economic liberty through operation of their short-term rental as protected by the equal protection and due course of law provisions of the Texas Constitution.

Press Release March 30, 2018

TPPF files amicus brief supporting Texas Supreme Court review of economic liberty case

The Foundation believes the Texas Supreme Court should take this opportunity to review -- and reverse -- the appellate court's flawed ruling, which says that an infringement of individual liberty isn't a problem unless it's a complete prohibition.

Press Release March 29, 2018