Energy & Environment
Settlement Agreement in BLM Red River Case
BLM Settlement Agmt by texaspolicy on Scribd
November 8, 2017
Energy & Environment
Order Granting Settlement Agreement in BLM Red River Case
[275] Order Granting Parties' Amended Jt Mtn for Approval of Stlmt Agmt by texaspolicy on Scribd
November 8, 2017
Higher Education
Madam Secretary DeVos, Tear Down These Regional Higher-Ed Accreditors
Roughly 3,000 American colleges and universities periodically undergo what is called the accreditation process, which is meant to certify their academic quality as determined by one of seven regional accreditors operating in six geographic regions. Since 1952, accreditation by a federally recognized accreditor has been required for a school to qualify to receive student aid funds....
November 8, 2017
Health Care
Health Care Sharing Ministries Offer Promising Alternatives
The failure of Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act and provide much-needed relief for millions of Americans suffering under its onerous regulatory mandates has highlighted the need to consider alternative ways to provide low-cost, high-quality care. To be clear, Congress should not walk away from efforts to repeal. Alongside that effort, however, Congress...
November 7, 2017
Health Care
Leave Children’s Health Insurance to the States
As Congress continues to focus on tax reform, there has been relatively little conversation about a recently lapsed federal program that funds health insurance for children in low-income households. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is primarily targeted at households that have too much income to be eligible for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private...
November 7, 2017
Criminal Justice
The mischaracterization of conservative criminal justice reform
The primary goal of conservative criminal justice reform is increased public safety with a secondary emphasis on fiscal savings. Where conservatives sometimes struggle with criminal justice reform is in the appearance of being soft on criminals or anti-law enforcement, and reform opponents seek to exploit this tendency. Despite assertions, conservative criminal justice reform does not make the...
November 6, 2017
K-12 Education
Why Children Are Fleeing Public Schools In One Of America’s Fastest Growing Cities
The Austin Independent School District (AISD) in Central Texas serves a city that has consistently been one of America’s fastest growing large metropolitan areas for a decade. Yet, in spite of being in the heart of this thriving city that has grown by more than 100,000 people in the past five years, AISD has...
November 3, 2017
Higher Education
Mitch Daniels And The Purdue Miracle: Lessons For The Rest Of Us
Over the past decade, a growing chorus of students, parents, and state legislators have urged tuition reductions or freezes on their public colleges and universities. To this request, defenders of the higher education status quo have rejoined that freezes will materially undermine their universities’ ability to provide an excellent education for their students. For...
October 31, 2017
K-12 Education
What you need to know about AISD’s $1.05 billion bond proposal
On November 7th, Austin ISD is submitting a $1.05 billion bond to Austin voters for their approval. The bond deserves a close look, as with any proposed investment, from parents and taxpayers. Extra consideration is due in this case, as the school district has stated that the outstanding needs of the district actually come to...
October 30, 2017
Taxes & Spending
Harvey presents a chance to re-examine role of government
Hurricane Harvey is sure to test the mettle of incoming Texas legislators. When lawmakers reconvene in January 2019, the state’s revenue picture is likely to be a little gloomier than usual, given that total losses from the storm could reach $190 billion. Even if the economic impact doesn’t hit revenues hard, Harvey will force...
October 30, 2017
Family
Foster care reform is critical
Re: “San Antonio to see CPS reform,” Metro, Oct. 17: As Express-News writer Allie Morris reported, foster care in Texas was managed by the state, but reform legislation passed this year expands community foster care by shifting responsibility to private non-profit or local government entities. Under a similar community care pilot, the Fort Worth...
October 25, 2017
Criminal Justice
Crime, punishment and taxes
Local corrections costs have quadrupled over the past 40 years. And paying for jails’ rising financial burden has inflicted a severe punishment against one group in particular — local taxpayers. Operating jails has contributed to the doubling of local tax burdens since 1977. This trend is not surprising given that the nation’s average daily local jail population quadrupled to 630,000 since 1970. Unfortunately, the incomes of most...
October 24, 2017