The State Policy Network (SPN) is a web of right-
wing “think tanks” in states across the country
. With over $4.2 million in net assets reported in 2011, the
Texas Public Policy Foundation
is one of the best-funded
SPN “think tanks” in the
country. While TPPF claims to be focused on issues important to the people of Texas, it actually pushes a right-wing agenda dictated by its national right-wing funders and partners. TPPF is a longtime member and supporter of the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), where corporate lobbyists and lawmakers come
together to vote on “model” bills that end up
benefiting the
corporations’ bottom line.
TPPF was a member of the now defunct Public Safety and Elections Task Force, and has been an ardent defender of ALEC activities. In May 2012, Wendy Lee Gramm, chairman of
TPPF’s
board of directors, and Brooke Rollins, its president and chief executive officer, published an op-ed in the
Wall Street Journal
defending the organization. This was largely in response to widespread public criticism of ALEC and its Public Safety and Election Task, which produced
controversial model bills such as “Stand Your Ground” legislation and the “Voter ID Act.”
Additionally, TPPF has been involved in several other ALEC task forces and SPN, of which TPPF is a prominent member, is also been a longtime supporter and member of ALEC.
Block access to affordable healthcare for Texas families
Defund and privatize Texas’s public schools
Oppose using renewable energy and attack environmental and pollution protections
Deny the science of climate change
Cut retirees’ benefits and
destroy public pensions
Attack teachers’ rights
Oppose minimum wage laws
In 2011, Me
linda Hastings, TPPF’ Vice President from 1996 –
that the organization’s
fundraising strategy involved pitching their future research as beneficial to industry interests. In 1997, for example, the Associated General Contractors of Texas and the Consulting Engineers Council of Texas helped fund a TPPF study called "Sundown on Big Government." The study called for the privatization and outsourcing of key functions performed by the Texas Department of Transportation and 11 other state agencies
—
a potentially lucrative opportunity for the engineers and con
tractors that funded the study. Hastings described the report as “watershed moment” for the TPPF, noting that around 20 of the report’s recommendations were implemented.
In 2012, the Environmental Defense Fund
accused TPPF of “cherry
-
picking” data”
in a report advocating against the use of clean energy. TPPF does not voluntarily disclose its donors to the public. In August 2012, though, the
Texas Observer
published a
report revealing the funding behind the Texas Public Policy Foundation, based on documents from tax filings that were accidentally published. The list of TPPF contributions included significant donations from the Koch brothers (through both Koch Industries and the Koch foundations), along with contributions from large corporations such as Verizon, State Farm Insurance, ExxonMobil, Altria (formerly Philip Morris), GEO Group, RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Time Warner Cable, Chevron, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Boeing. TPPF has also received hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy individuals based in Texas and around the country. Other known TPPF funders include the Koch-fueled Donors Capital
Fund and Donors Trust (known as the “
”), the Coors family’s Castle
Rock Foundation, the Wisconsin-based Bradley Foundation, the Searle Freedom Trust, and the State Policy Network. The other right-
wing SPN “think tank” in Texas –
–
is also corporate funded, having received funding from the American Natural Gas Alliance and PhRMA.
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