The War for Local Liberty

What to Know: Texas conservatives are seeking to advance a bold agenda next session, including banning taxpayer-funded lobbying, curtailing local government emergency powers, strengthening property tax protections, and more. “The measures are sure to escalate the long-running feud between Texas’ conservative leaders and the mostly Democratic officials who run the state’s largest cities and counties,” according to the Houston Chronicle.

The TPPF Take: Conservatives must win the war for local liberty. Texas’ future depends upon it.

“Liberal local governments are changing the character of Texas by taxing excessively, spending egregiously, and trampling on liberty. They are turning the Lone Star State into something unrecognizable. Conservatives must stop this progressive push now before it’s too late,” says TPPF’s James Quintero.

For more on local spending, click here.

Education Funding

What to Know: A new study shows that 2.9% of the state's 5.5 million students are no longer enrolled in public schools, following the chaos of pandemic-related shutdowns. That could result in a loss of funding to districts of $5,500 per student, per year.

The TPPF Take: Texas can help overcome pandemic setbacks by expanding educational opportunities, and we must include those “lost” students.

“We mustn’t abandon those students who feel their academic careers have been cut short by school closures,” says TPPF’s Emily Sass. “We can strengthen our Career and Technical Education with new options that are more closely aligned with available jobs. As tech companies are flocking to Texas, Spring ISD is offering a new computer programming career pathway, for example.”

For more on expanding educational opportunities, click here.

It’s a Start

What to Know: A full 450 miles of border wall were constructed during 2020.

The TPPF Take: Wall or no wall, a crisis in on its way to our southern border, as immigrants and activists seek to test the incoming Biden administration.

“During the presidential campaign, Biden promised to reverse President Trump’s strict immigration and border policies, which together with emergency travel restrictions because of the pandemic helped drive illegal-immigration levels to historic lows after a surge last spring,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “Numbers are once again increasing as conditions deteriorate in Central America."

For more on the coming border crisis, click here.