Marc A. Levin is the Chief Policy Counsel at the Council on Criminal Justice and Senior Advisor to Right on Crime.
Originally published in the Dallas Morning News. New legislation stiffens penalties and provides for victims. A recent police effort underscored a disturbing but resolvable truth: Human trafficking doesn’t just happen in faraway places — it happens in our own backyard, and, too often, it targets our children. Through a coordinated effort by the U.S. Marshals...
Chairman King, Vice Chairwoman Hernandez, and distinguished members of the committee, My name is Ammon Blair, and I am a Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. I am honored to appear before you today in strong support of House Bill 256. I bring 22 years of military and law enforcement experience, including service...
Texas local governments use taxpayer dollars to hire lobbyists to influence state legislation—creating conflicts of interest, distorting democratic accountability, and undermining the interests of Texas taxpayers. Key points: Taxpayer-funded lobbying expenditures more than doubled from the 85th to the 89th Legislature, now reaching as high as $111.5 million. Taxpayer-funded lobbyists consistently opposed legislation involving property...