Agenda

• Today: Public Policy in Texas

    - What is public policy?

• Next class: Local Government

Announcemnts

What is Public Policy

• Define “public policy”

• Examples of public policy

• Public policy Implementation

Examples of public policy - Education

• The state education budget

    - K-12
    - Higher Education
    - Financial Aid such as the Texas Grant
    - The Permanent University Fund and Texas University Fund

• Requirements of school districts:

    - minimum days of class
    - minimum teacher qualifications
    - minimum teacher salaries
    - standardized test requirements
    - graduation requirements

• Licensing of teachers and school administrators

• Statewide curriculum requirements (like this class)

Examples of public policy - public health policy

• Health and Human Services

    - Main regulatory agency for Texas public health
    - Also responsible for social welfare policy including administering WIC, SNAP, etc.

• Non-Medical Drivers of Health Action Plan

    - screens Medicaid beneficiaries for non-medical needs
    - connects pregnant Medicaid beneficiaries with non-medical resources
    - allows community health workers and doulas to become Medicaid providers

Public Health Funding & Policy Committee

    - Defining core public health services for local health entities 
    - Evaluating public health in Texas 
    - Identifying funding sources for local health entities 
    - Establishing public health policy priorities
    
    

Examples of public policy - public health policy

• Health worker licensing

• Insurance regulations

• Children’s immunizations

• CHIP and Medicaid

• Public hospitals and clinics

    - Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital
    - Ben Taub Hospital
    - MD Anderson Cancer Center

Public Policy Implementation

• Tax policy
• Spending policy
• Laws and Regulation

Tax policy

• Major and complex policy area in its own right

Tax policy

• Major and complex policy area in its own right
• Tax policy affects other policy areas

Tax policy

• Major and complex policy area in its own right

• Tax policy affects other policy areas

    - Indirectly by providing funding
    - Directly by influencing behavior
    - Tax credits and deductions (mostly federal)

Spending policy

• Major tool for implementing public policy

Spending policy

• Major tool for implementing public policy
• Subsidies

Spending policy

• Major tool for implementing public policy
• Subsidies
• Government services

Spending policy

• Major tool for implementing public policy
• Subsidies
• Government services
• Paying state employees
• Paying state contractors
• Indirect subsidies

Laws and Regulation

-Regulatory Laws - Criminal

    - Example: Practicing medicine without a license
    - Example: Dumping of lead acid batteries
    

Laws and Regulation

-Regulatory Laws - Criminal

    - Example: Practicing medicine without a license
    - Example: Dumping of lead acid batteries
    - Part of the penal code
    

What would be a result of being part of the regular penal code?

Laws and Regulation

-Regulatory Laws - Criminal

    - Example: Practicing medicine without a license
    - Example: Dumping of lead acid batteries
    - Part of the penal code
    - Generally tried in regular courts
    - Guilty verdict required proof beyond a reasonable doubt
    - Usual consequences: Fine, jail, prison, probation
    
    

• Administrative Laws - Civil

    - Example: Suspending or revoking a medical license
    - Example: Dry cleaner fails to pay registration fees
    - May be tried in civil courts or in front of a state agency's own board
    - Requires proof by a preponderance of the evidence
    - Consequences: monetary penalty, judicial order to comply, enforcement agreement or consent agreement

Laws and Regulation

• Regulatory Laws - Criminal

• Administrative Laws - Civil

• Administrative regulations

    - Example: standards for issuing medical licenses
    - Example: environmental impact studies
    - reporting requirements
    - audit requirements
    - 

Authorship and License

• Author: Tom Hanna

• Website: tomhanna.me

• License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.