Last month, TPPF’s James Quintero testified before the Senate Committee on State Affairs in support of Senate Bill 1025 and Senate Joint Resolution 45, a bill and a constitutional amendment proposing an overhaul of the emergency powers provided by the Texas Disaster Act of 1975. Both proposals have been fully passed by the Texas Senate...
Last month, TPPF’s James Quintero testified before the Senate Committee on Local Government in support of Senate Bill 252, a bill that criminalizes the use of tax dollars to store or refurbish nongovernmental personal property that do not provide public benefit. This bill is currently pending in committee. Below are Quintero’s prepared remarks delivered orally...
Last month, TPPF’s James Quintero testified before the House Committee on State Affairs in support of House Bill 749, a bill prohibiting political subdivisions from using tax dollars to hire registered lobbyists or to pay a nonprofit association that hires registered lobbyists. The bill is currently pending in committee. Below are his prepared remarks delivered...
Last month, TPPF’s James Quintero testified before the House Ways & Means Committee in support of House Bill 1391, a bill to require a taxing unit to reduce its tax rate to the lesser of the no-new-revenue tax rate or the voter-approval tax rate in cases where an entity fails to win majority support at...
New York sailed too close to the wind and now Texas has a tremendous opportunity. In a recent study, we analyzed New York’s latest tax increase—and it is a disaster. The top marginal personal income tax rate in New York City has jumped to over 14.7%, for the highest combined state and local tax rate...
An updated analysis of hospital price transparency information shows the vast majority of states are not coming close to complying with rules that require certain providers to publish their negotiated prices. Less than half (48%) of eligible hospitals are compliant with rules that require the providers to publish pricing information so patients can know the...
My eight-month-old son has the cutest gummy grin. I know I’m biased — I’m sure your kids are cute, too — but it fills me with a joy I never imagined before becoming a mom. Like most moms, I’m fiercely protective. I take my maternal responsibilities seriously, balancing new experiences and challenges with guarding his...
House Bill 1869 is scheduled for floor debate today. The bill would protect last session’s tax reforms by including debt not approved by voters, such as certificates of obligation, in the 3.5% voter-approval tax rate calculation. Under current law, these items are excluded from the tax rate calculation, even though they lead to higher taxes....
Bearing Witness: Senate Bill 1879 This month, TPPF’s James Quintero testified before the Senate Committee on Local Government in support of Senate Bill 1879, a bill to broaden the scope of what governmental entities must disclose as it relates to money being spent on directly or indirectly influencing the outcome of legislation. The bill has...
Out-of-state friends frequently ask me what life is like in “Deep-Red Texas.” I answer that there are many blessings to living in the Lone Star State, to which I escaped from Chicago a decade ago. But when they ask whether the same blessings accrue in Texas public higher education, the story is mixed, for I...
Smithville ISD’s two elementary schools earned “D” ratings from the Texas Education Agency for 2018-2019 (the most recent year available). Its junior high got a “C.” Though its high school received a very low “B,” it earned no distinctions from the TEA. Yet in March, the Smithville school board told its attorney to begin negotiations...
The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Chief Economist Vance Ginn and economist E.J. Antoni break down the massive spending proposals in President Biden’s recent address to Congress. $225 billion toward high-quality childcare and ensuring families pay only a portion of their income toward child-care services, based on a sliding scale Raising taxes from one pocket to...