"Based on our preliminary analysis, the proposed 2008-09 budget agreement would increase state spending by 9.3 percent over the next two years. This is a dramatic improvement from the previous session's budget growth. "A responsible budget process should not increase the cost of government per person. Since we expect population growth plus inflation will grow...
Press Release January 11, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE "Today's revenue estimate vindicates Texas' decision to keep taxes and government spending low. The $14.3 billion surplus is far more money than state government needs, and those extra dollars should be returned to their rightful owners: Texas taxpayers. "Even after funding current services, the Legislature will have enough money left to buy...
Press Release January 8, 2007AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation announced today the selection of David Guenthner as its new Director of Media and Government Relations. Starting January 2, 2007, Guenthner will coordinate the Foundation’s outreach efforts to the news media, Texas Legislature, and state government. Guenthner is best known around the Capitol for the six years he...
Press Release December 17, 2006AUSTIN – After five years serving as the chief spokesman and principle government affairs director, Michael Quinn Sullivan is ending his tenure as vice president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “It’s certainly a sad day for our organization, as the Texas Public Policy Foundation is losing one of the most passionate free-market leaders in...
Press Release November 29, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – Nobel Prize winning economist Dr. Milton Friedman passed Thursday, November 16, 2006, at the age of 94 in San Francisco. The following statement was offered by Dr. Byron Schlomach, chief economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “Dr. Friedman’s passing is a great loss to our nation and the world,” said Dr....
Press Release November 16, 2006AUSTIN – A new research report issued by the Texas Public Policy Foundation recommends that the quality and significance of a high school diploma should be strengthened to improve post-secondary opportunities for all Texas students. The State Board of Education will meet in Austin this week to decide how to implement the legislature’s mandate adding...
Press Release November 13, 2006AUSTIN — Governor Rick Perry today announced the Texas Task Force on Appraisal Reform, which will include Texas Public Policy Foundation president Brooke Rollins. Perry said in announcing the task force in Dallas that its purpose is to study and make recommendations on how to address Texans’ continuing concerns over skyrocketing property appraisals. The recently-concluded...
Press Release August 21, 2006AUSTIN – The United States Congress should provide line-item veto authority to the president, making good on an effort started in the mid-1990s and then stalled by the courts, according to the chief economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The United States House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on a bill that...
Press Release June 21, 2006AUSTIN, Texas — The Office of the Governor and the Legislative Budget Board have requested state agencies to submit budget proposals that reduce spending by 10 percent. The chief economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation says this is good news for taxpayers. "Governor Perry and the LBB are putting fast-growing government on a diet....
Press Release June 7, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – With members of the Texas House poised to begin work on the tax bills today, the president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation urged them to make use of the state’s structural surplus – current and future. “The most prudent, fiscally sound policy lawmakers can pursue is to dedicate current and future...
Press Release April 24, 2006AUSTIN, Texas -The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts today announced the estimated surplus for the state has grown to $8.2 billion – up from previous surplus estimates of $4.3 billion. The president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Brooke Rollins, said the funds should be used exclusively for tax relief. "The Foundation has long urged...
Press Release April 17, 2006AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Animal Health Commission today announced their decision to postpone consideration of mandatory premises registration until 2007. This was welcome news for Marc Levin, director of the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Levin offered the following statement: “We applaud the Texas Animal Health Commission’s decision to...
Press Release April 4, 2006