AUSTIN, TX – Yesterday, interim charges for the Senate Committee on Inter-Governmental Relations (“IGR”) were announced, identifying six policy areas for the Committee to review. One such area is debt transparency. The IGR Committee will examine ways to improve debt transparency and government accountability in elections.
“A major contributor to Texas’ local debt problem is that voters aren’t provided with basic information as they enter the voting booth,” said Allegra Hill, Policy Analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “According to the latest debt data, local governments — or more accurately, the taxpayers that fund local governments — owe a total of $333.1 billion dollars. That’s roughly $12,500 in debt per Texan.
“Without providing this information on the ballot, all voters know during a bond election is that their local government claims it needs more money. We need transparency in the voting booth so taxpayers can call their local governments’ bluff and hold them accountable for their spending.”
To read more about ballot box transparency, see the Foundation’s study: Improving Financial Transparency at the Ballot Box.
For more information or to request an interview with Ms. Hill, please contact Caroline Espinosa at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
Allegra Hill is a Policy Analyst with the Center for Local Governance at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.