The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a conservative-leaning think tank based in Austin, TX. The organization was founded in 1987 and states its mission is to defend liberty, personal responsibility and free enterprise in Texas and across the United States. [1]
Background
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a conservative-leaning think tank based in Austin, Texas. [2] James Leininger, a major Republican donor whose company, Kinetic Concepts, sold specialty medical beds, founded the organization in 1987. [3]
The organization hosts an annual event known as the “Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature.” [4] TPPF also established an office in Washington, D.C. [5]
The foundation is a member of the State Policy Network, a national coalition of state-based conservative-leaning think tanks. [6] It also participates in forming policy for the American Legislative Exchange Council. [7]
Financial Backers
Among the donors to the TPPF have been Koch Industries, the electric utility firm Luminant, [8] Exxon, and State Farm. [9] Pew Charitable Trusts has also contributed to the foundation’s criminal justice reform efforts. [10]
The foundation states it is “funded by thousands of individuals, foundations, and corporations” but does not accept any government funding or contributions.” [11]
Leadership
Kevin Roberts is the executive director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He was previously president of Wyoming Catholic College. Before that he founded his own K-12 school, John Paul the Great Academy in Louisiana. [12]
Chuck DeVore is the vice president of national initiatives of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. DeVore was previously an executive in the aerospace industry and a California State Assemblyman. DeVore is also a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and was activated during the Los Angeles riots in 1992. [13]
Sarah Atnipp Partin is the vice president of development for the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
She previously worked as the corporate relations development officer at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. [14]
John N. Hostettler is the vice president for federal affairs for states trust with the Texas Public Policy Center. He represented Indiana’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007. [15]
Thomas Lyles is the chairman of the board of directors for the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Lyles is a lawyer and CPA. He is a manager with MedCare Holdings GP and was previously a briefing attorney for the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court in 1983 and 1984. [16]
Policy
The foundation’s “Right on Crime” initiative promotes criminal justice reform from a conservative perspective to focus on effective rehabilitation to avoid recidivism of prisoners. [17]
After President Joe Biden came to office, The Texas Public Policy Foundation said it was preparing federal lawsuits against the administration focused on executive overreach. The Biden administration began its early days with energy regulations that had a negative impact on the state of Texas. At the same time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced he was bringing lawsuits. [18]
In January 2021, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and TPPF Executive Director Kevin Roberts announced the Election Protection Project. The goal of the project was to promote best practices to combat voter fraud, protect legitimate votes, and ensuring proper voter ID to cast a vote in-person and by mail. [19]
Trump Administration Ties
Brooke Rollins, a former CEO of the TPPF, served in the Trump administration, first as head of the White House Office of American Innovation and later as director of the Domestic Policy Council. [20]
In 2011, then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) donated the proceeds of his book, “Fed Up,” to the TPPF. Trump appointed Perry as his first Secretary of Energy. [21]
Doug Domenech, who was head of the TPPF Fueling Freedom Project, was the head of Trump’s transition team for the Interior Department. [22]
Mario Loyola, who founded the TPPF’s Center for Tenth Amendment Action, became associate director of regulatory reform at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. [23]