AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation unveiled “Keeping Texas Competitive 2013,” a series of recommendations to the 83rd Texas Legislature that will keep Texas at the forefront of prosperity, job creation, and economic growth.

“Texas’ economy has dominated the last decade because of wise decisions by our state’s policymakers, but other states are starting to catch up by following our example,” said TPPF Executive Director Arlene Wohlgemuth. “The Keeping Texas Competitive agenda lays out the next steps to advance fiscal responsibility and economic opportunity that are essential if we want to improve Texans’ quality of life.”

“Keeping Texas Competitive lays out five conservative priorities for the upcoming legislative session,” said TPPF Vice President for Research Bill Peacock. “By following these recommendations, the Texas Legislature can keep Texas at the forefront of job creation in the United States.”

The five themes of the “Keeping Texas Competitive 2013” recommendations are:

  • Adopt Real Texas Budget Solutions and Keep Taxes Low.
  • Protect Our Health, Environment, and Energy Economy, Texas-style.
  • Build a Higher Quality, More Efficient Education System.
  • Foster a Free Market Economy and Protect Property Rights.
  • Maintain Strong and Effective Criminal and Civil Justice Systems.

“Higher taxes are not the way to improve our schools and universities, provide better health care for the poor, and certainly not to provide more and better jobs for Texans,” said Talmadge Heflin, Director of TPPF’s Center for Fiscal Policy. “The budget and policy recommendations in Keeping Texas Competitive show how we can achieve those goals without imposing a heavier burden on taxpayers who are already bracing for the federal government to drag them over its fiscal cliff.”

Specific policy recommendations for each of these topics are available in the full “Keeping Texas Competitive 2013” document on the Foundation’s website, www.TexasPolicy.com.

The Foundation also announced the publication of its 2013-14 Legislator’s Guide to the Issues, the sixth edition of this popular desk reference on Texas policy. The Legislator’s Guide is a distillation of the knowledge the Foundation has developed from its many years of research on the key issues facing the Texas Legislature. Each entry provides a quick overview of the topic, with footnotes that point readers to additional resources. The Legislator’s Guide to the Issues is also available for download on the Foundation’s website.

The Honorable Arlene Wohlgemuth is the executive director and director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She served 10 years in the Texas House of Representatives, specializing in health care issues.

The Honorable Talmadge Heflin is Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Heflin served 11 terms in the Texas House and chaired the Appropriations Committee in 2003, leading the Legislature’s successful efforts to close a $10 billion budget deficit without a tax increase.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.

Primary website: www.TexasPolicy.com

Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/TexasPublicPolicyFoundation

Twitter feed: www.Twitter.com/TPPF

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