MIDLAND, Texas — The Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Austin, Texas, talked to Midland residents Tuesday about what happened during the 88th Texas legislative session.
"We’re a research organization at our heart, so we want people to understand not only what bills are passed, but what they’ll actually do," said Greg Sindelar, CEO of Texas Public Policy Foundation. "How it will affect them in their day-to-day lives, what will it mean for the state and for the children, and that’s the context we try to wrap everything around."
"The whole goal is to be out in the state, not just in Austin," said Sindelar. "We don’t want to be speaking just to people in Austin. It’s more important to be speaking to folks out in the rest of Texas because they’re the ones affected everyday by what’s happening in Austin."
Panelists spoke on a variety of topics, one being education. They discussed the new laws laws impacting kindergarten to college, including the curriculum bills for K-12, banning sexually explicit books and banning DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) offices on college campuses and universities.
"We tried to look at a broad spectrum of the things that happened in the regular session of the Texas Legislature," said Sindelar. "We wanted to cover the education aspect, the energy aspect and some of the higher ed and cultural type of issues that came across during the sessions."
The TPPF also talked about the "unfinished business" regarding border security, property taxes and schools.
"There’s a lot of unfinished business in legislature," said Sindelar. "There’s a reason we’re in special session, to get property tax relief passed, it’s to secure the border and it’s to get education reformed, parental choice passed."
"I really have faith in the Governor, Lt. Governor and the Speaker that we’re gonna figure this out," said Sindelar. "They recognize that it’s really important, and there’s a lot at stake for Texans, you know, Texas has long been a beacon of hope for the rest of the country. And I think that’s just gonna continue to grow and it has grown. We’ve seen that over time, and I think as we get these things over the finish line, that beacon will become brighter and brighter."
The TPPF will make their next stop in the DFW area next week, followed by Houston.