Criminal Justice

US Needs Bail Reform to Protect Constitutional Rights & Public Safety

Bail reform is increasingly being considered by state legislatures and many cases challenging bail practices continue to wind their way through federal courts. Understanding the significance of these developments requires examining the role of constitutional rights, the negative effects of pretrial detention, and how recent reforms in several states are reshaping the pretrial justice landscape....

January 29, 2019

Energy & Environment

Texas town’s environmental narcissism makes Al Gore happy while sticking its citizens with the bill

Political leaders in a college town in central Texas won wide praise from former Vice President Al Gore and the larger Green Movement when they decided to go “100 percent renewable” seven years ago. Now, however, they are on the defensive over electricity costs that have their residents paying more than $1,000 per household in...

January 29, 2019

Taxes & Spending

Watch These Texas Budget Functions to Keep a Conservative Texas Budget

The Conservative Texas Budget (CTB) limits increases in the state’s two-year appropriations of state funds and all funds (state and federal funds) to less than the average taxpayer’s ability to pay—appropriately measured by population growth plus inflation. The figure below shows the limits for the currently discussed 2020-21 state budget. These CTB limits are based on...

January 28, 2019

Health Care

States are moving forward with ‘Medicare for all’ — more power to them

Some cities and states are trying to fix the Affordable Care Act’s deficiencies all on their own. New York City, for example, has pledged to directly pay the medical bills of the city’s estimated 600,000 uninsured. Massachusetts is looking at some form of “Medicare-for-All,” at least in name, because that name polls very well (when...

January 28, 2019

Local Government

Two Views: New money should mean a new way of doing things

State leaders appear poised to boost public education funding in a big way. A few weeks ago, the Texas House published its version of the new state budget for 2020-21. In it, lawmakers call for a roughly $7 billion increase in K-12 spending — but only if certain things happen first, like reducing recapture, providing...

January 25, 2019

K-12 Education

It’s About Priorities- Prioritizing Students, Not the System

Maybe one problem with our school finance system in Texas is how we talk about it. We express tax increases in terms of pennies on the tax rate; the reality is these are real dollars out of the pockets of hard-working Texans. We talk about taxes for school funding in terms of local contributions and...

January 24, 2019

Health Care

We need more price transparency in health care

Having a baby at a UT Health Tyler hospital in Tyler, Texas, will cost a family $19,147.11, according to that facility’s newly posted price transparency guide. That’s a vaginal delivery with no complicating diagnosis. For a caesarian section, the price goes up to $31,644.38. Of course, that’s not what people pay. It’s just what the...

January 24, 2019

Energy & Environment

Don’t let climate change ‘solutions’ halt the miraculous progress against world poverty

Good news, everyone: More than a billion human beings no longer suffer the miseries of “extreme poverty” — a level below sustenance for necessities such as food and shelter. “Poverty around the world is plummeting; half the world is now middle class; and illiteracy, disease and deadly violence are receding,” according to Wall Street Journal...

January 24, 2019

Energy & Environment

It’s Cold in China, And Environmental Central Planning Has Turned Off The Heat

The rural areas surrounding Beijing get cold during the winter, with an average low of 15 degrees Fahrenheit in January. To cope with the daily chill, millions of farmers and laborers have burned coal to keep warm. But the coal—especially coal burned in a home furnace—came at the cost of air pollution, not only in...

January 23, 2019

Local Government

HCDE Gets Rid of Its Taxpayer-Funded Lobbyist

As reported by Texas Scorecard, the board for the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) voted last week to end a longstanding, taxpayer-funded contract with HillCo Partners, an Austin-based lobbying group that also advocates on behalf of many other local governing bodies, including the city of Houston. Harris County Department of Education Board Members argued...

January 22, 2019

Local Government

What are Certificates of Obligation & Who is Using Them?

The Certificates of Obligation Act of 1971 allows some governmental entities—like cities, counties, and certain special districts—to issue debt without voter approval to fund any public project. More specifically, certificates of obligation (COs) can be used “to fund the construction, demolition, or restoration of structures; purchase materials, supplies, equipment, machinery, buildings, land and rights of...

January 22, 2019

K-12 Education

Competition Is A Good Thing

Competition is the cornerstone of our society. Because of forward-thinking disruptors like Amazon, all retailers have had to step up their game. As manufacturers compete to make the best product, our “phones” have transformed from corded wall devices to pocket-size mini-computers within a generation. Competition makes products better and we – the consumers – benefit....

January 22, 2019