Derek M. Cohen, Ph.D.

Derek Cohen, Ph.D., is Vice President of Policy and Right on Crime Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Dr. Cohen was instrumental in the passage of the First Step Act, federal legislation that borrowed from successful changes to prisons and sentencing that he had helped pass in conservative states. In previous legislative sessions, Dr. Cohen has successfully worked on issues of occupational licensure, truancy reform, and orders of nondisclosure.  In addition to leading the Foundation’s work on criminal justice, he is also the lead researcher of firearms policy.

Economy

Occupational licensing keeps many from driving toward prosperity

You shouldn’t have to get government’s permission to pursue your dreams. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently noted in his State of the State speech that people move to Texas because they’re “fed up with big government policies increasingly running their lives and imposing burdensome regulations.” Texas’ entrepreneur-friendly economic environment supports almost limitless opportunities to flourish. But...

March 8, 2019