Land Rush What to know: Texas is facing a new land rush, with so many people relocating here. Could that turn a red state blue? The TPPF take: Don’t worry about Texas turning blue; people moving here know what they’re fleeing. “It has long been a fear of conservative-minded Texans — and a hope of...
Yay! Spending Limits! What to know: The Legislature passed a bill that will limit state spending to what the Conservative Texas Budget outlines—no growth beyond population plus inflation. The TPPF take: This will help rein in the growth of government. “This critical reform that places much of TPPF’s Conservative Texas Budget in state law is...
Level the Playing Field What to know: A bill ending energy discrimination has been sent to the governor for signing. The TPPF take: This bill will end the practice of discriminating against responsible energy producers—in a state that produces more energy than any other. “Wall Street banks and investment firms are colluding to deny critical...
A Win for Patients What to know: With hospital price transparency comes real competition for the consumer’s dollar—and that’s a win for the patient, as one family’s story shows. The TPPF take: The Texas House has passed a bill that strengthens price transparency rules. “The American Hospital Association claims that ‘disclosure of privately negotiated rates...
Ding Dong! What to know: Legislators successfully killed a program that subsidized unreliable renewable energy (among other things) with taxpayer money. The law allowing Chapter 313 tax breaks will sunset in 2022. The TPPF take: These tax breaks are costly and unnecessary. “At best, these incentives do not work; at worst, they can be harmful,”...
It’s Not a Big Request What to know: More and more Texans are demanding an end to practice of local governments using our tax dollars to lobby against us. The TPPF take: One bill to ban the practice, SB 10, was gutted and replaced with language that exempted lobbyists who are lawyers from any restrictions...
Their Loss What to know: Texas continues to benefit from the financial policies of blue states, as their people and businesses continue to relocate here. The TPPF take: High-tax states are causing their own problems. “Places like California and New York, they overspend and they grow government in different areas, which means they have to...
The End is in Sight What to know: With the Legislative Session’s last day (sine die) just a week away, lawmakers are struggling to get important bills—such as a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying—over the finish line. The TPPF take: It’s in the interest of all Texans that legislators end the practice of local governments lobbying...
The Coming Climate Lockdowns What to know: Governmental powers that were used—and abused—during the pandemic could soon be used to lock down the economy in the name of climate change. The TPPF take: The Biden administration could use taxation as its tool to lock down the economy. “What we’re seeing from the Biden-Harris administration, using...
Good News, Maybe What to know: A Supreme Court ruling on a related case could portend good news for the case against the Affordable Care Act. The new ruling indicates that Texas, other states and individual plaintiffs do have standing to sue over the harms they have suffered under the ACA. The TPPF take: TPPF...
Even the Editorials Are On Board What to know: The Houston Chronicle has a new editorial calling for an end to the kind of corporate welfare embodied in Chapter 313 of the tax code, which allows schools to grant tax abatement to multinational corporations. The TPPF take: These tax breaks are costly and unnecessary. “At...
What is ‘Fair’? What to know: President Biden’s tax plans are based on his notion of “fairness.” The TPPF take: The notion of fairness is subjective. “Because everyone drafting or revising the tax code views fairness differently, this approach to fiscal policy has helped turn the tax code into a complicated nightmare,” says TPPF’s E.J....