The Texas Conservative Coalition (TCCRI) views public policy through the lens of its principles of Limited Government, Individual Liberty, Free Enterprise, and Traditional Values. Together, these principles form the “LIFT Principles.” Of TCCRI’s six public policy Task Forces, only the “Free Enterprise and Government Regulation” task force has one of these principles included in its title. The other half of the title, government regulation, should rightly be understood not as government’s authority to regulate, but as the LIFT principle of limited government applied to government regulation. These ideas go hand-in-hand.

​

Limiting government and promoting free enterprise are of paramount importance to Texas, its economy, and the prosperity of its citizens. So much of what government engages in impacts free enterprise.

The state requires the government’s permission to engage in hundreds of legal activities through the requirements associated with occupational licensing.

​

The state regulates every aspect of alcohol production, transportation, sale, and consumption.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies face efforts to impose expansive new laws and regulations, affecting the ability of innovators to create new products and services.

​

Housing supply and affordability are universally recognized as important areas of growth and prosperity, yet government regulation prevents them from adapting to address increased need.

​

The Texas Constitution prohibits gambling, yet authorizes several forms of legal gambling, including a government monopoly in the form of the state lottery. State law also lacks clarity of the topic of fantasy sports.

Financial regulations, including potential laws on earned wage access services, affect how people collect their earnings.

Insurance is heavily regulated by the state. Government requirements related to insurance often distort markets and drive up prices. The same can be said about regulations affecting automobile sales.

​

Government regulation can be a force for good, as private sector developments in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) work to cause market distortions and impose otherwise unjustifiable business practices.

​

Over the course of the 88th Legislative Session’s Interim, TCCRI held meetings to discuss many of these topics. Those meetings informed the research and policy proposals contained in this report, as did TCCRI’s research and work in other areas, including legislative testimony, white papers, and public policy summits. TCCRI hopes that you find the research and policy proposals helpful and informative.