AUSTIN – Texas Gov. Rick Perry delivered his state of the state address this morning and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) found many significant areas of agreement with the governor’s proposals.
Brooke Rollins, TPPF President and CEO said, “Every legislative session we publish our‘Keeping Texas Competitive, A Legislator’s Guide to the Issues.’ In it, we detail the actions the Texas legislature can take to boost prosperity and freedom in the Lone Star State for all Texans. We’re pleased to see several specific initiatives promoted by the governor that line up with our proposals.”
The Hon. Talmadge Heflin, Director of TPPF’s Center for Fiscal Policy, noted, “We are delighted with the governor’s call for $1.8 billion in tax relief. As part of that tax relief, we suggest making the margin tax exemption permanent, giving small business important tax planning assurance that will reduce the high compliance costs associated with this complicated and inefficient tax and putting on the path to elimination. We also support the governor’s proposal to strengthen Texas’ tax and expenditure limit (TEL) which today does little to limit actual government spending.”
“We agree with the governor’s call to foreclose the use of budget gimmicks such as raiding dedicated accounts to feed general revenue spending,” said Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst James Quintero. “Lastly, we support the call to use dedicated transportation revenue for transportation only, targeting some $1.3 billion annually to relieving congestion on our roads.”
James Golsan, a policy analyst with the Foundation’s Center for Education, said, “The governor’s support for enacting more scholarships combined with school choice and more public charter schools in Texas, is a much-needed package of education reform that will improve educational outcomes for those young Texans who most need it.”
Dr. Thomas Lindsay, Director, Center for Higher Education, observed that, “The governor is very engaged in trying to stem the rising cost of a college education. We agree with his efforts to rein in overhead costs while improving quality so that students can complete a four-year degree without such a staggering debt burden.”