Legislators Guide to the Issues 2005-2006

Growing Pains: The Cost and Contribution of Impact Fees in Texas

Texas’s rapidly growing population requires new infrastructure and improvements, which oftentimes come at great expense. To fund these projects, local officials often impose impact fees on new development—but their use comes at a cost. Key points: Texas is the fastest-growing state in the nation. As such, it has robust infrastructure requirements. To help finance capital...

Dr. Brent Bennett’s Testimony Before the House State Affairs Committee: Data Centers & 765-kV Transmission Lines

Testimony of Brent Bennett, Ph.D. Policy Director, Life:Powered Texas Public Policy Foundation Before the House State Affairs Committee August 19, 2026 Chairman King and Members of the Committee: Thank you for this opportunity to testify about the important challenges facing the Texas electric grid and specifically the challenges and opportunities being presented by data centers....

From Clipboard to Cloud: Ensuring Patient Privacy and Portability in Health Records

From Clipboard to Cloud: Ensuring Patient Privacy and Portability in Health Records Key Points HIPAA protects institutions, not information. Once health data leaves a covered entity for an app, vendor, or broker, federal protection ends, and Texas law leaves that gap open. The interest at stake is not only access to clinical records. It is...