Public policy in Texas

• Fiscal policy
  • Budgets
    • Budget and finances by state
    • Tax policy by state
    • State Budget Terms
    • State government tax collections by source
    • Total state expenditures
    • State spending by function as a percent of total expenditures
    • State debt
  • Finance
    • Financial regulation in the United States
    • Dodd-Frank Act
    • Federal Reserve
  • Pensions
    • Pension policy by state
    • Public pension health by state
    • Pension reform in San Jose and San Diego
    • Pension Terms and Definitions
    • Public pensions
• Civil liberties
  • Affirmative action
  • Campaign finance
  • Nonprofit regulation
• Education
  • Public education by state
  • School choice by state
  • Charter schools by state
  • Higher education by state
  • Education policy in the United States
  • Public education in the United States
  • Education statistics
    • Education statistics in the United States
    • Education spending per pupil
    • Number of schools by school type in the U.S.
    • Demographic information for all students in the United States
    • Public school system expenditures in the United States
    • Public school system revenues in the United States
    • Public school teacher salaries in the United States
    • Graduation rates by groups in state
    • Public high school dropout rates by state
    • ACT and SAT scores in the United States
    • NAEP scores by state
  • Major terms
    • Blended learning
    • Charter schools
    • Common Core
    • Dropout rate
    • Progressive education
    • Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate
    • School vouchers
    • Teacher merit pay
  • United States education agencies
• Elections
  • Voting policy
    • Voter identification laws by state
    • Online voter registration
    • Early voting
  • Ballot access
    • Ballot access for presidential candidates
    • Ballot access for major and minor party candidates
    • List of political parties in the United States
    • Political party designation
  • Redistricting
    • State-by-state redistricting procedures
    • Majority-minority districts
• Energy and Environment
  • Energy Policy by state
  • Fracking
    • Fracking information by state
    • Fracking
    • Fracking in the United States
  • Energy policy in the United States
  • Energy use in the United States
  • Oil and gas on federal lands by state
  • Energy terms and definitions
  • Agencies and legislation
  • Environmental Policy by state
  • Endangered Species Policy
    • Endangered species policy by state
  • Environmental policy in the United States
  • Environmental statistics
  • Endangered species statistics
  • Glossary of environmental terms
  • Glossary of endangered species terms
• Healthcare
  • Healthcare policy by state
  • Medicaid spending by state
  • Effect of the Affordable Care Act by state
  • Healthcare policy in the United States
  • Affordable Care Act
• Immigration
  • Immigration in the United States
  • Immigration by state
• Index

The Public Policy Project on Ballotpedia aims to illuminate major policy issues being discussed and implemented throughout the United States. Public policy can be complicated and controversial; deciding what works best and how to allocate resources to achieve a policy goal can involve multiple trade-offs. Much of the public policy that affects citizens economically, legally and socially, is made at the state level. Below you will find links and introductions to all the Texas public policy articles on Ballotpedia. To see the policy overview of another state click on the map below.

For a list of all public policy articles on Ballotpedia see here.

Budget Policy

Budget and finances

In Texas, as in other states, lawmakers and public officials are elected in part to manage the state's finances. This includes generating revenues (money coming into the state from various sources) and approving expenditures (the money spent on governmental functions and servicing state debt). State budgets are complex and fluid, as they depend on anticipated revenues and planned expenditures, which may alter over the course of a fiscal year. If revenues do not keep pace with expenditures, states generally have to raise taxes, cut services, borrow money, or a combination of the three. State budget decisions are also influenced by policy decisions at the national level, such as the Affordable Care Act or energy and environmental regulations, and issues at the local level, such as crime and the quality of education.

HIGHLIGHTS

Between fiscal years 2015 and 2016, total government spending in Texas increased by approximately $8.0 billion—from $119.3 billion in fiscal year 2015 to an estimated $127.3 billion in 2016. This represents a 6.7-percent increase.

In Texas in fiscal year 2015, 88.9 percent of total tax revenues came from sales taxes and gross receipts. Texas does not collect an income tax.

Education accounted for 37.5 percent of state expenditures in fiscal year 2015, while 30.6 percent went to Medicaid.

Taxes

Texas generates the bulk of its tax revenue by levying a general sales tax and select sales taxes (otherwise known as excise taxes). The state derives its constitutional authority to tax from Article 8 of the state constitution.

Tax policy can vary from state to state. States levy taxes to help fund the variety of services provided by state governments. Tax collections comprise approximately 40 percent of the states' total revenues. The rest comes from non-tax sources, such as intergovernmental aid (e.g., federal funds), lottery revenues and fees. The primary types of taxes levied by state governments include personal income tax, general sales tax, excise (or special sales) taxes and corporate income tax.

HIGHLIGHTS

According to the United States Census Bureau, Texas collected $52.13 billion in tax revenue in 2016. The state's tax revenue per capita was $1,871.

Civil Liberties Policy

Affirmative action

Affirmative action in Texas refers to the steps taken by employers and universities in Texas to increase the proportions of historically disadvantaged minority groups at those institutions. Historically, affirmative action nationwide has taken many different forms, such as strict quotas, extra outreach efforts, and racial and gender preferences. However, racial quotas in university admissions were banned in a 1978 United States Supreme Court case, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke.

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court reversed lower court decisions in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, effectively ending the use of affirmative action in college admissions.

As of March 2015, 109 out of 577 public four-year universities across the country reported that they considered race in admissions. This practice has been banned in eight states. Meanwhile, 28 states require affirmative action plans in either public employment or apprenticeships. Affirmative action programs that grant racial preferences have come under scrutiny in the courts for potentially violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The following information details the use of affirmative action in universities and employment in Texas, as well as notable court cases originating in the state.

HIGHLIGHTS

In Texas, two public universities reported considering race in admissions as of March 2015.

Texas has enacted three laws regarding affirmative action in employment.

The effects of affirmative action policies are contested. Proponents argue that affirmative action diversifies selective institutions and provides more opportunities to minorities. Opponents argue that implementing policies that favor some groups requires discrimination against others and that these policiesmay harm individuals they are meant to help.

Campaign finance

Texas campaign finance requirements govern the following:

• how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations,
• how much and how often they must report those contributions, and
• how much individuals, organizations and political parties may contribute to campaigns.

In addition to direct campaign contributions, campaign finance laws also apply to third-party organizations and nonprofit organizations that seek to influence elections through independent expenditures or issue advocacy.

As of May 2015, individuals could make unlimited donations to individual candidates. Corporations and unions could not directly contribute to candidates for office but could make unlimited contributions to ballot measure campaigns.

Nonprofit regulation

Nonprofit regulation in Texas involves a complex set of rules that govern nonprofit organizations and charitable giving throughout the state. Major issues surrounding nonprofit regulation nationwide include the following:

• contribution limits,
• donor disclosure, and
• the redefinition of issue advocacy.

Texas is one of 11 states that do not require charitable organizations, or those intending to solicit on their behalf, to register with the state in order to solicit contributions, whether they are a Texas organization or based out-of-state.

According to Guidestar, an organization that reports on nonprofit companies, regulation of nonprofit activity protects donors and organizations from potential fraud and helps "to maintain trust in the [nonprofit] sector." According to the London School of Economics, nonprofit disclosure requirements can create privacy concerns among potential donors, thereby having an unintended negative impact on donor participation.

Education Policy

K-12 Public education

The Texas public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2022, Texas had 5,156,972 students enrolled in a total of 8,161 schools in 1,022 school districts. There were 344,362 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. In 2020, Texas spent on average $10,342 per pupil. The state's graduation rate was 90 percent in the 2018-2019 school year.

Higher education

Texas' higher education system is composed of 268 colleges and universities. Of these, 107 are public institutions, 73 are nonprofit private schools, and 88 are for-profit private institutions.

HIGHLIGHTS

At public four-year colleges in Texas, 27.6 percent graduated within four years, while 51.7 percent graduated within six years.

Hispanic students comprised approximately 34.0 percent of the total postsecondary student population in Texas.

Texas was one of five states in which the number of teaching and research assistants alone outnumbered full-time faculty.

School choice

School choice programs provide alternatives to parents who do not wish to send their children to the local public schools to which they are assigned. Public school choice options include open enrollment policies, magnet schools, and charter schools. In addition, governments may provide financial assistance to parents who pursue private school options. This assistance may take the form of school vouchers, which allow public school students to attend private schools; scholarship tax credits; personal tax credits and deductions; and education savings accounts (ESAs), which allow parents to receive public funds directly for educational expenses.

HIGHLIGHTS

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a charter school advocacy group, there were an estimated 723 total charter schools in Texas in the 2015-2016 school year. These schools enrolled approximately 282,900 students.

In Texas, there were 312,640 students enrolled in 1,740 private schools in fall 2013, accounting for roughly 6.13 percent of the state's total school-age population.

According to the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, as of June 2016, Texas provided no financial assistance (either in the form of vouchers or tax credits) to parents wishing to send their children to private schools instead of public schools.

Proponents argue that school choice programs improve educational outcomes by expanding opportunity and access for historically disadvantaged students. In addition, advocates claim that school choice programs empower parents and improve traditional public schools through competition. Critics contend that these programs divert funds from traditional public schools, thereby generating unequal outcomes for students. In addition, some critics argue that school voucher programs wrongly direct tax dollars to religious organizations, which operate many private schools.

Charter schools

Charter schools in Texas are public schools operated independently of public school systems, either by nonprofit or for-profit organizations. Although they are largely publicly funded, charter schools are exempt from many of the requirements imposed by state and local boards of education regarding hiring and curriculum. As public schools, charter schools cannot charge tuition or impose special entrance requirements; students are usually admitted through a lottery process if demand exceeds the number of spaces available in a school. Charter schools generally receive a percentage of the per-pupil funds from the state and local school districts for operational costs based on enrollment. In most states, charter schools do not receive funds for facilities or start-up costs; therefore, they must rely to some extent on private donations. The federal government also provides revenues through special grants. As of March 2017, 44 states and the District of Columbia had approved legislation authorizing the creation of public charter schools. Six states had not.

HIGHLIGHTS

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a charter school advocacy group, there were an estimated 723 total charter schools in Texas in the 2015-2016 school year. These schools enrolled approximately 282,900 students.

Overall, charter school students accounted for 5.39 percent of total public school enrollment in Texas in 2015.

The Texas State Legislature approved the state's charter school law in 1995.

Election Policy

Ballot access requirements

In order to get on the ballot in Texas, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.

There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.

1. An individual can seek the nomination of a state-recognized political party.
2. An individual can run as an independent. Independent candidates often must petition in order to have their names printed on the general election ballot.
3. An individual can run as a write-in candidate.

This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in Texas. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, see "Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Texas." Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).

Redistricting

Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Texas' 38 United States Representatives and 181 state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. The federal government stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

Texas was apportioned 38 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, two more than it received after the 2010 census. Click here for more information about redistricting in Texas after the 2020 census.

HIGHLIGHTS

Following the 2020 United States Census, Texas was apportioned 38 congressional districts, two more than the number it had after the 2010 census.

Texas' House of Representatives is made up of 150 districts; Texas' State Senate is made up of 31 districts.

In Texas, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. If the legislature fails to approve a state legislative redistricting plan, a backup commission must draw the lines (the backup commission is not involved in congressional redistricting).

Texas' congressional and state legislative district maps that were drawn after the 2010 census have been subject to litigation. On June 25, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed a district court decision striking down several congressional and state legislative district maps as unconstitutional racial gerrymanders (the high court upheld the district court's finding of racial gerrymandering with respect to one state House district). Click here to learn more.

Voting

Energy Policy

Energy information

Energy policy involves governmental actions affecting the production, distribution, and consumption of energy in a state. Energy policies are enacted and enforced at the local, state, and federal levels and may change over time. These policies include legislation, regulation, taxes, incentives for energy production or use, standards for energy efficiency, and more. Stakeholders include citizens, politicians, environmental groups, industry groups, and think tanks. A variety of factors can affect the feasibility of federal and state-level energy policies, such as available natural resources, geography, and consumer needs.

Fracking

Environmental Policy

Environmental information

Environmental policy aims to conserve natural resources by balancing environmental protection with economic growth, property rights, public health, and energy production. Federal, state, and local government entities develop and implement environmental policies through laws and regulations. This page features information about environmental policy in Texas.

Environmental governance in Texas

The Texas Legislature has House standing committees on Environmental Regulation and Natural Resources. The Environmental Regulation committee manages bills related to environmental regulation, waste disposal and radiation. The Natural Resources committee manages bills related to conservation, land and water development. Both committees oversee the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The Senate has a standing committee on Natural Resources.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is responsible for administering and enforcing environmental laws in the state. Its divisions implement state policy for air and water quality, waste removal and management, and radiation.

Environmental budget

See also: Environmental spending in the 50 states

The table below features information about the annual budget for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality:

Environmental and natural resources budget in Texas
Fiscal year	Total spending
2023	$313,760,612
2022	$335,511,681
2021	$372,751,037
2020	$397,965,882
2019	$371,107,392
2018	$373,008,549
2017	$447,195,067
2016	$465,164,507
2015	$356,616,276
2014	$372,295,156
2013	$340,636,918
2012	$351,391,149
2011	$472,774,096
Source: Texas Legislative Budget Board

Air

Clean Air Act

See also: Implementation of the Clean Air Act

The Clean Air Act is a federal law aimed at maintaining air quality and reducing air pollution. The law requires states and private industries to meet national air pollution standards. Each state must implement an EPA-approved plan to reduce air pollutants from industrial facilities such as chemical plants and utilities. Over 47,000 facilities nationwide were regulated under the Clean Air Act as of February 2023.

The table below features information about the number of regulated facilities under the Clean Air Act in Texas from 2014 to 2023:

Regulated facilities under the Clean Air Act in Texas, 2014-2023
Year	Number of EPA-regulated facilities	Number of state-regulated facilities	Number of local-regulated facilities	Total regulated facilities
2023	12	2,849	N/A	2,861
2022	17	2,727	N/A	2,744
2021	18	2,902	N/A	2,920
2020	15	2,706	N/A	2,721
2019	14	2,618	N/A	2,632
2018	17	2,437	N/A	2,454
2017	21	2,370	N/A	2,391
2016	47	2,527	N/A	2,574
2015	62	2,398	N/A	2,460
2014	64	2,441	N/A	2,505
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "EPA/State Air Dashboard"

Mercury and air toxics standards

See also: Mercury and air toxics standards

Citing its authority under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2011 issued a rule (commonly known as the MATS rule) limiting the amount of mercury and other toxic air pollutants emitted by power plants. Mercury and air toxics standards (MATS) target mercury and other hazardous pollutants from over 580 coal and oil-fired power plants nationwide. The MATS rule was issued by the Obama administration as part of its larger policy limiting emissions from coal-fired power plants.

The EPA later reconsidered the MATS rule and, in 2020, determined "that it is not 'appropriate and necessary' to regulate electric utility steam generating units under section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA)."

A 2021 proposed rulemaking from the EPA seeks to revoke the 2020 action and reinstate the MATS rule.

During the period that the MATS rule was in effect, Texas had 56 power plants subject to the mercury standards.

Ozone standards

See also: Ground-level ozone standards

Federal ozone standards establish the acceptable amount of ground level ozone, commonly known as smog, which is formed when nitrogen oxide combines with other organic chemicals in the atmosphere. Automobiles, power plants, factories and manufacturing centers emit the nitrogen oxide necessary for ozone formation. In high concentrations, ozone is harmful to human health.

EPA in 2015 lowered the acceptable amount of ground-level ozone (smog) in the air. The standards will go into effect in 2025. States would have between the years 2020 and 2037 to create and establish a plan to meet the standards, depending how much ozone forms in certain areas of a state.

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Clean Power Plan

See also: Clean Power Plan and climate change

The EPA in 2015 finalized a regulatory action known as the Clean Power Plan aimed at mitigating what the agency views as potentially human-caused climate change. The plan aims to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants (fossil fuel-fired) and natural gas-fired power plants by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Each state would have to meet goals based on the number of fossil fuel- and natural gas-fired plants in the state.

After several states challenged the plan in court, arguing in part that the plan exceeded the EPA's statutory authority, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit delayed the rule's implementation in June 2016. The Trump administration later moved to replace the Clean Power Plan with the Affordable Clean Energy rule. The D.C. Circuit vacated the Trump-era rule in January 2021, "giving the incoming Biden administration a clean slate for" drafting a new rule, according to Bloomberg.

Carbon dioxide emissions

The following table provides information about annual carbon dioxide emissions in Texas from 2010 to 2020:

Carbon dioxide emissions in Texas, 2010-2020 (in million metric tons of energy-related carbon dioxide)
Year	Total carbon dioxide emissions
2020	624.0
2019	683.2
2018	684.7
2017	665.0
2016	656.7
2015	655.1
2014	661.9
2013	657.7
2012	627.0
2011	634.9
2010	615.4
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

Land

Federal land policy

See also: Federal land policy

Federal land policy involves the conservation and management of natural resources on land owned by the federal government. Most federal land policies focus on conservation, recreation, oil and natural gas extraction, wildlife and forest management, and grazing.

The federal government as of 2018 owned around 640 million total acres of land (about 28 percent) of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Four federal agencies (the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the National Park Service (NPS), the Forest Service (FS) oversee public lands for conservation, recreation, wildlife protection, grazing, energy production, and other purposes. The Department of Defense also oversees federal lands used for military, training, and related purposes. The majority of federal land is located in Alaska and 11 coterminous Western states

Federal land ownership

See also: Federal land ownership by state

The table below features information about changes in federal land ownership in Texas from 1990 to 2018:

Change in federal land ownership in Texas, 1990-2018
Year	Total federal land (in acres)	Percentage of state land owned by the federal government
2018	3,231,198	1.9%
2010	2,977,950	1.8%
2000	2,855,997	1.7%
1990	2,651,675	1.6%
Source: Congressional Research Service

Federal land management by agency

The following table features information about federal land management in Texas by federal agency in 2018:

Federal agency land management in Texas, 2018
Agency	Total federal land in state managed by agency (in acres)	Percentage of total federal land in state
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)	12,188	0.4%
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)	574,956	17.8%
National Park Service (NPS)	1,206,489	37.3%
Forest Service (FS)	757,036	23.4%
Department of Defense (DoD)	680,529	21.1%
Source: Congressional Research Service

National parks

The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) as of February 2023 oversaw what the agency describes as 424 units (often referred to as parks) and more than 150 related areas within the National Park System. The agency assists in managing national historic areas, wild and scenic rivers, historic landmarks, and national trails. The National Park System contained more than 85 million acres as of February 2023, including national parks, historical parks and sites, national monuments, battlefields and military parks, recreation areas, seashores, and parkways. More than 297 million visitors attended sites in the National Park System in 2021. NPS employed around 20,000 permanent, temporary, and seasonal employees as of February 2023.

NPS operated 14 national parks in Texas as of February 2023.

The following table features visitation statistics for national parks in Texas from 2017 to 2021.

National Park Service visitation in Texas, 2017-2021
Year	Total recreation visits
2021	5,887,579
2020	5,929,330
2019	5,834,681
2018	5,310,767
2017	5,905,067
Source: U.S. National Park Service

Payments in lieu of taxes

See also: Payments in lieu of taxes

The U.S. Department of the Interior pays local governments each year to offset what they lose in property taxes due to non-taxable federal land within their borders, commonly known as payments in lieu of taxes (PILT). PILT payments go toward fire and police departments, public schools, road construction, and other local services. PILT amounts are based on population and the amount of federal land in a county. From 1977 (when PILT payments began) to 2022, the Interior Department paid out around $10.8 billion to states, territories, and Washington, D.C. PILT payments can be used for any governmental purpose.

The following table features information about payments in lieu of taxes received by local governments in Texas from 2017 to 2021.

Total payments in lieu of taxes, Texas, 2017-2021
Year	Total payments in lieu of taxes
2022	$6,087,242
2021	$5,799,798
2020	$5,686,731
2019	$5,648,114
2018	$6,512,880
Source: U.S. National Park Service

Oil and natural gas activity

See also: Oil and natural gas extraction on federal land and BLM oil and gas leases by state

The federal government leases its land to private individuals and companies for energy development, including drilling for crude oil and natural gas, solar energy, and geothermal energy. Oil and natural gas drilling on federal lands in the United States is primarily overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Private oil and natural gas companies apply for leases from the BLM to produce energy on federal land. About 26 million acres of federal land—12.8 million of which produced oil and gas in economic quantities—were leased to about 24,000 oil and gas developers operating 96,000 wells at the end of fiscal year 2018.

The following table features information about oil and natural gas activity on federal land in Texas from 2017 to 2021:

Oil and natural gas activity on federal land in Texas, 2017-2021
Year	Oil production (in thousands of barrels)	Natural gas production (in million cubic feet)	Total leases in state	Total leased acres in state
2021	224,528	36,913,344	519	306,632
2020	330,947	26,121,515	527	311,601
2019	329,702	27,788,564	539	318,788
2018	458,920	27,396,064	582	346,545
2017	430,000	30,204,036	599	374,571
Source: U.S. National Park Service

Water

Clean Water Act

See also: Implementation of the Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act is a federal law regulating pollutants discharged into all waters of the United States, including lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands. The federal government approves water quality and technology standards for major sources of water pollution, such as chemical plants, steel manufacturers, municipal facilities, and others. Each state must establish water quality standards for all bodies of water within its boundaries.

Under the Clean Water Act, it is unlawful to discharge any pollutant from any source into navigable waters without a federal permit. The permit specifies what limitations or conditions apply to a facility before the facility may discharge any pollutants. Federal permits may contain facility-specific requirements and limitations depending on the water source.

The following table provides information about the number of Texas facilities subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act from 2014 to 2023:

Clean Water Act permits, Texas, 2019-2023
Year	Number of facilities
2023	58,411
2022	60,226
2021	53,104
2020	47,954
2019	42,781
2018	31,918
2017	16,474
2016	7,066
2015	6,144
2014	5,757
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "National Water Activity Dashboard"

Waste

Superfund sites and hazardous waste facilities

See also: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act

Superfund is a federal program that addresses contaminated waste sites and their return to practical use. Superfund sites include oil refineries, smelting facilities, mines and other industrial areas. The federal government can compel the private entities responsible for a waste site to clean the site or face penalties. If the federal government cleans a waste site, it can compel the responsible company to reimburse the government for cleanup costs. Because Superfund sites are added and removed from a prioritized list on a regular basis, the total number of Superfund sites since the program's inception in 1980 is unknown.

The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act covers hazardous wastes, including their generation, treatment, storage and disposal. States may regulate hazardous wastes rather than the federal government. The EPA is responsible for all hazardous waste requirements if no state program exists. Hazardous waste regulations cover waste generators, transporters, treatment centers, storage and disposal facilities.

Texas had 56 Superfund sites and 13,551 regulated hazardous waste facilities as of February 2023.

Endangered species

Endangered Species Act

See also: Endangered species in Texas

The Endangered Species Act is a federal law that mandates the listing and conservation of endangered and threatened species. The legislation aims to prevent the extinction of vulnerable species throughout the United States and to recover a species' population to the point where listing the species as endangered or threatened is no longer necessary. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the law's implementation.

Texas had 109 federally listed endangered or threatened plant or animal species as of February 2023. To view the full list, click here.

Environmental ballot measures in Texas

The following list features historical information about ballot measures relating to environmental issues in Texas.

Natural resources

• Texas Redemption of Mineral Interests, Proposition 2 (September 2003)

Environment

• Texas Tax Exemptions for Pollution Control Property, Proposition 2 (1993)
• Texas Proposition 2, Conservation and Reclamation District Amendment (1964)
• Texas Proposition 6, Tax Exemptions for Pollution Mitigation Equipment Amendment (1968)

Water

• Texas Water Development Bonds, Proposition 23 (1987)
• Texas Tax Exemptions for Water Conservation, Proposition 3 (1997)
• Texas Water Development Board Bond Authorizations, Proposition 7 (1997)
• Texas Water Development Bonds, Proposition 19 (2001)
• Texas Proposition 1, Irrigation Districts Amendment (August 1897)
• Texas Proposition 1, Irrigation Districts Amendment (1900)
• Texas Proposition 2, Water Development Fund Amendment (1957)
• Texas Proposition 4, Water Storage Facilities Amendment (1962)
• Texas Proposition 11, Texas Water Development Amendment (1966)
• Texas Proposition 2, Water Development Fund Amendment (August 1969)

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Recent environmental legislation in Texas

The following list features information about environmental bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Texas State Legislature in the last five years. To learn more about these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

See also

• Endangered species in Texas
• Energy policy in Texas
• Federal land policy
• Federal land ownership by state
• U.S. Bureau of Land Management
• U.S. Department of the Interior
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• U.S. National Park Service

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Footnotes

Endangered species

Endangered species policy in Texas involves the identification and protection of endangered and threatened animal and plant species. Policies are implemented and enforced by both the state and federal governments.

HIGHLIGHTS

As of July 2016, Texas had 97 species—78 endangered species and 19 threatened species—listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Of these, 67 were animal species and 30 were plant species.

Finance Policy

Financial regulation information

The United States financial system is a network that facilitates exchanges between lenders and borrowers. The system, which includes banks and investment firms, is the base for all economic activity in the nation. According to the Federal Reserve, financial regulation has two main intended purposes: to ensure the safety and soundness of the financial system and to provide and enforce rules that aim to protect consumers. The regulatory framework varies across industries, with different regulations applying to different financial services.

Individual federal and state entities have different and sometimes overlapping responsibilities within the regulatory system. For example, individual states and three federal agencies—the Federal Reserve, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)—regulate commercial banks. Other sectors of the financial market are regulated by specific entities.

HIGHLIGHTS

In 2015, there were a total of 447 distinct commercial banks in Texas, with total deposits of $730.1 billion.

The Department of Banking is the primary regulatory body for financial institutions in Texas.

In 2015, a total of 169,373 financial crimes were reported in Texas according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), an agency of the United States Department of Treasury.

Some, such as the Brookings Institution, argue that expanded governmental regulation of banks and financial products (e.g., mortgages) can prevent large-scale financial crises, protect consumers from abusive practices, and stabilize financial markets. Others, such as the Cato Institute, argue that over-regulation of banks of banks and financial products burdens business, stalls economic growth, and does little, if anything, to stabilize financial markets. Beyond this basic debate about the role of the government in regulating the private financial sector, there are varying opinions about the proper extent of governmental regulation.

Healthcare Policy

Healthcare information

Healthcare policy in Texas involves the creation and implementation of laws, rules, and regulations for managing the state's healthcare system. The healthcare system consists of services provided by medical professionals to diagnose, treat, and prevent mental and physical illness and injury. The system also encompasses a wide range of related sectors, such as insurance, pharmaceuticals and health information technology.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the 50 state legislatures collectively "make thousands of health policy decisions each year," not including the decisions made by local governments, which often oversee hospitals, and private bodies, such as insurers. These decisions can include budget appropriations, requirements for doctors obtaining their licenses, which services are covered by insurance, how personal health information is managed, and which immunizations children must receive, among many others.

Healthcare policy affects not only the cost citizens must pay for care, but also their access to care and the quality of care received, which can influence their overall health. A top concern for policymakers is the rising cost of healthcare, which has placed an increasing strain on the disposable income of consumers as well as on state budgets.

Other issues in healthcare policy include

• state Medicaid expansion,
• health information technology and privacy,
• uninsured and underinsured portions of the population,
• a shortage of primary care physicians, and
• mental healthcare access and coverage.

Medicaid spending

Texas' Medicaid program provides medical insurance to groups of low-income people and individuals with disabilities. Medicaid is a nationwide program jointly funded by the federal government and the states. Medicaid eligibility, benefits, and administration are managed by the states within federal guidelines. A program related to Medicaid is the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which covers low-income children above the poverty line and is sometimes operated in conjunction with a state's Medicaid program. Medicaid is a separate program from Medicare, which provides health coverage for the elderly.

Effect of the Affordable Care Act

The impact of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), also known as Obamacare, has been debated among politicians, policymakers, and other stakeholders. The ACA was signed into law in 2010 by President Barack Obama (D). The law facilitated the purchase of health insurance through a system of health insurance exchanges, tax credits, and subsidies. Initially, states were required to expand eligibility for Medicaid under the law; a 2012 ruling by the United States Supreme Court made the Medicaid expansion voluntary for states. The law also required insurers to cover healthcare services within a standard set of benefits and prohibited coverage denials based on preexisting conditions. Under the law, all individuals were required to obtain health insurance.

HIGHLIGHTS

Between 2013 and 2016, the number of uninsured individuals in Texas declined by 20.9%.

About 963,000 individuals in Texas were enrolled in health plans offered through the health insurance exchange in 2017. Enrollment in Medicaid amounted to about 4.8 million in May 2017.

The Kaiser Family Foundation found that between 2016 and 2017, average monthly premiums for benchmark plans on Texas's exchange increased by an average of 13% in the Houston market, from $256 to $288.

Immigration Policy

Immigration information

Immigration policy determines who may become a new citizen of the United States or enter the country as a temporary worker, student, refugee, or permanent resident. The federal government is responsible for setting and enforcing most immigration policy.

Meanwhile, states assume a largely supportive role, enacting their own supplementary laws and setting policies that may, for example, determine which public services immigrants can access, establish employee screening requirements, or guide the interaction between related state agencies and their federal counterparts.

Some jurisdictions, including some states, cities, and counties, have adopted policies of not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement; these jurisdictions have become known as sanctuary jurisdictions.

HIGHLIGHTS

As of October 2016, Texas allowed lawfully residing immigrant children to enroll in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

In 2014, Texas' population amounted to just over 26 million. Native-born citizens comprised 83.5 percent of the population; 10.9 percent were non-citizens.

Texas' poverty rate during 2014 was 13.7 percent. Among native-born citizens, 10.8 percent lived below the poverty line, compared to 32.1 percent of non-citizens.

Pension Policy

Public pensions

Texas public pensions are the state mechanism by which state and many local government employees in Texas receive retirement benefits.

There were 135 public pension systems in Texas as of 2020. Of these, seven were state-level programs while the remaining 128 were administered at the local level. Membership in Texas' various pension systems totaled 2,878,068, as of fiscal year 2020. Of these, 1,429,935 were active members.

HIGHLIGHTS

Total contributions of $13.6 billion were made to Texas' state and local pension systems, in fiscal year 2020. Of this amount, $5.6 billion came from employees.

Texas' state and local pension systems made payments totaling $19 billion, in fiscal year 2020.

Texas' state and local pension systems held $306.6 billion in total cash and investment holdings, as of fiscal year 2020.

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Footnotes