Texas Public Policy Foundation

Texas PolicyCast

• Privatizing services for mental retardation
  Texas has traditionally provided services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through a network of "state schools." Part of the 2003 reorganization of Texas health and human services was a push to have more of this care delivered in private group homes as opposed to state-run facilities, but not much progress has been made. We look at the issue this week with The Honorable Arlene Wohlgemuth, Executive Director and Director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
  
  
• Ensuring Texas' fiscal stability
  On Monday, the Texas House Select Committee on Fiscal Stability met in Austin to review the state's revenue picture and to hear from several experts on how legislators should resolve the shortfall in the next state budget. One of those experts was the Texas Public Policy Foundation's Talmadge Heflin, and on this week's episode, he summarizes what he told the committee.
  
  
• Transparency in Texas higher education
  Republicans and Democrats may not agree on much these days, but in Texas, they have found common ground when it comes to supporting greater government transparency. Over the last couple of months, however, university professors and administrators have opened fire on last session's House Bill 2504, which requires greater openness from Texas public universities. The bill's author, state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, sat down with us this week to set the record straight on what her bill did and why she believes it will help Texas public universities.
  
  
• Implementing ObamaCare
  There were three new developments on the federal health care front in the last week. Most of the media attention has been on a federal judge's decision that the state of Virginia's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of ObamaCare could proceed, and on Missouri voters amending their state's constitution to prohibit individuals from being forced to purchase health insurance. Below the radar, the federal government released new details on how the states would have to implement the law's new health insurance exchanges. On this episode, we get an update on ObamaCare from The Honorable Arlene Wohlgemuth, Executive Director and Director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
  
  
• Beyond the spill - part 2
  Last week, Mario Loyola, policy analyst for the Armstrong Center for Energy & the Environment at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, shared his observations and analysis on the emergency response to the BP oil spill. In the second part of a two-part interview, Mario discusses the Obama Administration's policy response and the long-term prospects for the Gulf region.
  
  
• Beyond the spill - part 1
  Mario Loyola, policy analyst for the Armstrong Center for Energy & the Environment at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, recently toured the Gulf Coast to get a first hand view of the situation surrounding the BP oil spill. His observations and analysis are published as the cover story of the August 2nd edition of National Review magazine. In the first part of a two-part interview, Mario shares his perspective on the Obama Administration's emergency response to the spill.
  
  
• Texas Financial Transparency: Open and Online
  In May, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin released a report entitled, "Texas Financial Transparency: Open and Online," which recommends several steps state and local governments should take to make their finances more accessible to the general public. This week, we discuss the report's findings with one of the project's directors, The Honorable Sherri Greenberg, former Texas state representative and currently a lecturer and fellow in the Center for Politics and Governance at the LBJ School of Public Affairs.
  
  
• What is a state health insurance exchange?
  State governments will face many new challenges and responsibilities under the recently passed federal health care legislation - one of the first being the creation of a state health insurance exchange. Massachusetts' state-subsidized exchange was the model for President Obama's plan, and the Bay State is now grappling with surging premiums and shrinking access to medical care. Utah took a fundamentally different approach and is seeing better results so far. On this week's episode, we bring you a conversation with Utah House Speaker David Clark, who shared Utah's model at the Foundation's May 20 Policy Primer, "State Options for Federal Health Care Reform."
  
  
• A sunset review of the Public Utility Commission of Texas
  Every Texas state agency is required to go through a comprehensive review at least once every 12 years by the Sunset Advisory Commission. These reviews are to determine whether the agencies are still needed - and if so, to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiencies. The Texas Public Policy Foundation recently published reports on two of the agencies up for commission decisions at its July meeting. Last week, Bill Peacock, Director of the Foundation's Center for Economic Freedom, discussed the Texas Department of Insurance. In the spotlight this week: the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
  
  
• A sunset review of the Texas Department of Insurance
  Every Texas state agency is required to go through a comprehensive review at least once every 12 years by the Sunset Advisory Commission. These reviews are to determine whether the agencies are still needed - and if so, to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiencies. The Texas Public Policy Foundation recently published reports on two of the agencies up for commission decisions at its July meeting. This week, we visit with Bill Peacock, Director of the Foundation's Center for Economic Freedom, about one of these agencies - the Texas Department of Insurance.