AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following statement on Wednesday’s hearings regarding Senate Joint Resolution 64, which would set up a vote for a state constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling and provision of support for other types of gambling in Texas.
“The establishment of gambling in Texas limited to a specified group of businesses, whether under SJR 64’s proposed constitutional amendment or other recent proposals, would not be a true free-market enterprise,” said Vice President for Research Bill Peacock. “That isn’t good for the Texans who would have to cope with the consequences. We urge the Legislature to reject this attempt to create a Lone Star gambling syndicate to produce additional revenue that Texas does not need.”
“There is ample data from other states that the hidden costs of gambling may largely offset any predicted gains,” said Vice President for Policy Chuck DeVore. “Instead of seeking new ways to take money from ordinary Texans, the 83rd Texas Legislature should instead be considering tax cuts to return money to the hard-working Texans who earned it.”
Bill Peacock is the vice president of research and director of the Center for Economic Freedom with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.
The Honorable Chuck DeVore is the Vice President for Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He served six years in the California Assembly and is the author of “The Texas Model: Prosperity in the Lone Star State and Lessons for America.”
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.
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