The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) is an Independent think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 based in Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

. It is a member of the State Policy Network

State Policy Network

The State Policy Network is a U.S. national network of free-market oriented think tanks focused on individual U.S. states. SPN is based in Arlington, Virginia.-History:SPN was founded in 1992 by Thomas A...

, a network of free-market leaning think tanks.

The stated mission of TPPF is to http://www.texaspolicy.com/about_tppf.php, "improve Texas government by generating academically sound research and data on state issues, and by recommending the findings to opinion leaders, policy makers, the media and general public." TPPF notes that its guiding principles are "individual liberty, personal responsibility, private property rights, free markets and limited government".

History

TPPF was initially founded and funded in 1989 by James R. Leininger

James R. Leininger

-Early life:James R. Leininger grew up in Indiana and Florida. He received a B.A. in 1965 and an M.D. in 1969, both from Indiana University. From 1969 to 1971, he did an internship at the University of Miami Medical School...

. Today, the Foundation's http://www.texaspolicy.com/about_tppf.php board of directors includes approximately one dozen men and women from around the state. TPPF was originally based in San Antonio, and moved to Austin in 2003.

Organization

TPPF is organized into eight issue-area centers, which issue research reports and briefing papers on a periodic basis (usually monthly):

• Anne & Tobin Armstrong Center for Energy and the Environment (formerly Center for Natural Resources Policy)
• Center for Economic Freedom
• Center for Education Policy
• Center for Effective Justice
• Center for Fiscal Policy
• Center for Health Care Policy
• Center for Higher Education
• Center for Tenth Amendment Studies

During the year, TPPF hosts monthly policy events ("Policy Primers") covering a range of issues, and an annual conference ("Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature") that draws in excess of 600 attendees.

Among its projects is TexasBudgetSource.com, the goal of which is to provide a single source for information on state and local budgets and spending in an effort to bring greater transparency to government spending. TexasBudgetSource.com not only provides links to existing publications and data released by state agencies and local governments, but also provides unique analysis that puts government budgets and spending in context. Another notable project of TPPF was Thinking Economically, a series of 10 publications created by Arthur Laffer

Arthur Laffer

Arthur Betz Laffer is an American economist who first gained prominence during the Reagan administration as a member of Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board . Laffer is best known for the Laffer curve, an illustration of the theory that there exists some tax rate between 0% and 100% that will...

 and issued during 2008 intended to be "a basic economic education for policymakers, the media, and the general public."

Administrative

• Brooke Rollins
  Brooke Rollins
  Brooke Leslie Rollins is the president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based research institute.Under Texas Governor Rick Perry, Rollins served as deputy general counsel, ethics advisor, and policy director. She then assumed the presidency of the Texas Public Policy Foundation...
  
  , President
• Bill Peacock, Vice President of Administration and Director, Center for Economic Freedom
• Shari Hanrahan, Vice President of Outreach and Director of Development
• David Guenthner, Director of Media and Government Relations
• Nancy Druart, Publications and Marketing Manager
• Greg Sindelar, Director of Operations
• Mike Joyce, Operations Manager
• Sarah Bradbury French, Grants and Proposals Manager

Center Leadership and Key Personnel

• Bill Peacock, Director, Center for Economic Freedom
• Joe Nixon, Visiting Research Fellow, Center for Economic Freedom
• Talmadge L. Heflin
  Talmadge L. Heflin
  Talmadge Loraine Heflin is a Republican Party former member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 149 in Harris County, who served from 1983-2005. From August 2007 through March 2008, he served as Executive Director of the Republican Party of Texas...
  
  , Director, Center for Fiscal Policy Studies
• James Quintero, Policy Analyst, Center for Fiscal Policy Studies
• Marc Levin, Director, Center for Effective Justice
• Mario Loyola, Director, Center for Tenth Amendment Studies
• Kathleen Hartnett White, Director, Center for Natural Resources
• Brooke Dollens Terry, Policy Analyst, Center for Education Policy
• Arlene Wohlgemuth
  Arlene Wohlgemuth
  Arlene Wohlgemuth, U.S. politician, was the Republican nominee for the 17th Congressional District of Texas in 2004. She lost 51% to 48% to Chet Edwards....
  
  , Visiting Research Fellow, Center for Health Care Policy Studies
• Elizabeth Young, Policy Analyst, Center for Higher Education, Center for Health Care Policy