The Texas Public Policy Foundation is at the forefront of a broad reexamination of the criminal justice system by advocates of policies that emphasize limited government and personal responsibility. There is an increased recognition that policymakers must think outside the cell and embrace approaches that reduce crime, restore victims, reform off enders, and control costs to taxpayers. Policymakers must also rein in the ever-growing body of criminal law so it focuses on its traditional mission of addressing serious wrongdoing that harms individual victims and degrades neighborhoods.
Local Government
When Government Lobbies Itself: Why Texas Should Ban Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying
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...
April 6, 2026