Today, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 310, which would bring transparency and accountability to the process of issuing certificates of obligation (COs). As documented in the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s report Reform Local Debt Issued Without Voter Approval, local governments have come to increasingly rely on this type of non-voter approved debt which is making an already bad local debt situation worse.
Press Release May 12, 2015The Texas Public Policy Foundation today released a paper by Senior Fellow Mario Loyola on the unconstitutionality of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP). The paper, The EPA’s Dangerous New Power Grab, examines the origins and legality of the CPP.
Press Release May 12, 2015The Texas Public Policy Foundation today announced that Robert Henneke joined the Foundation as director of the newly launched Center for the American Future. The Center will advance Tenth Amendment principles through opposition to federal abuse and overreach in areas of environmental, private property, and business autonomy rights.
Press Release May 12, 2015The Texas Public Policy Foundation today launched the Center for the American Future, led by former Kerr County Attorney and former Texas Assistant Attorney General Robert Henneke, to advance Tenth Amendment principles through opposition to federal abuse and overreach in areas of environmental, private property, and business autonomy rights. The Center will enhance the Foundation’s core mission by launching challenges to government overreach at the administrative, district, and appellate court levels. The Center will represent clients whose lives and liberty are threatened by federal-government action in defiance of the Constitution.
Press Release May 12, 2015Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Fiscal Policy Economist Dr. Vance Ginn testified today before the Texas House Ways & Means Committee on Senate Bill 7, relating to decreasing the rates of the franchise tax.
Press Release May 12, 2015On Saturday, the citizens of Kingsbury, TX approved by 97 percent the incorporation of the City of Kingsbury. The Kingsbury Incorporation Committee indicated it would follow the principles of a Liberty City, seeking to protect residents’ rights, provide basic services, and keep taxes as low as possible. In addition, as an incorporated community, the City of Kingsbury cannot be annexed by neighboring municipalities.
Press Release May 11, 2015The Texas Public Policy Foundation today released a paper by Senior Fellow Mario Loyola on how the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) targets Texas compared to other states. The paper, The EPA Targets Texas: Clean Power Plan, examines the components of the CPP and their onerous impact on Texas.
Press Release May 11, 2015Today, the Texas House is expected to take up for debate House Bill 506, a proposal to allow certain school districts to exceed the 50-cent debt limit and get further into debt.
Press Release May 11, 2015Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Friday that he filed an amicus brief in support of State of Florida’s lawsuit against the Administration’s attempt to unlawfully coerce Florida to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for the American Future Robert Henneke issued a statement.
Press Release May 11, 2015Today, Texas Governor Greg Abbott met with Senators John Cornyn (TX-R) and Ted Cruz (TX-R) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in Washington D.C. to discuss pushing back against the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan, which is a sweeping assertion of federal power over states to radically overhaul the entire system of electric power. The EPA’s rule would force the state of Texas to change its law to comply with a federal regulation that violates federal law as well as the U.S. and Texas constitutions.
Press Release May 7, 2015Though the Texas House and Senate do not yet agree on the best way to provide tax relief, there is a growing recognition of the need for structural tax reform. One critical reform—a requirement that local governing bodies achieve a supermajority before approving a property tax rate that brings in more revenue than the entity raised in the prior year—appears to have much promise, with Lt. Governor Dan Patrick this week signaling that he was “doubling down” on efforts to see it through to completion.
Press Release May 7, 2015The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s (TPPF) Center for Local Governance Senior Policy Analyst Jess Fields issued the following statement on the Senate’s passage of Senate Bill 1679, which increases the accountability and transparency of the process by which building codes are adopted by municipalities.
Press Release May 7, 2015