Hope Osborn, Director of Government Affairs

Hope Osborn, Director of Government Affairs

Hope Osborn, Director of Government Affairs

Posts

Lone Star State: Get to know the Texas Panhandle

September 20, 2022
Last week, we attended the Texas Lyceum’s conference, “Sustainability of Texas Communities,” in Amarillo. Thanks to Lyceum President Sarah Jackson and conference co-chairs Kristina Butts, Josh Winegarner and Nathaniel Wright for the opportunity to set the stage at the conference as the organization’s official data partner. Here are some key facts about the Texas Panhandle....

Texas 2036 testifies on IT investment needs

September 1, 2022
The following excerpt is adapted from written testimony by Texas 2036 Manager of Policy and Advocacy Hope Osborn, which was delivered to the House Joint Oversight Committee on Investment in Information Technology Improvement on Aug. 30, 2022. Watch it here. What to Know: The $200 million invested into the Technology Improvement and Modernization, or TIM,...

Can Texas Reinforce Its Cybersecurity Through IT Modernization?

June 21, 2022

Today, we are pleased to release the report, Investing in Texas: Cybersecurity and IT Modernization, which examines the unique opportunity state officials have to reinforce the foundations of Texas government by securing and modernizing its technological infrastructure.  What to Know: With sizable state and federal appropriations for technology upgrades in consideration, the Center for Public Finance at Rice University’s Baker Institute…

pension reform

What a Difference a Year Can Make – ERS Pension Reform

December 15, 2021
At the beginning of the year, the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS) pension system was facing $14.7 billion in unfunded liability, accruing about another $1.5 billion per biennium in said liability, and was set to run out of funds entirely by 2061. Now, at the end of the year in their annual review, ERS...
Children in school classroom

Markets Get Disrupted – School Funding Doesn’t Have To

November 12, 2021
A new study from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy predicts that Texas’ reliance on taxes from oil and gas production to fund public education could result in multi-billion budget shortfalls. This follows a similar study by Texas 2036 and the Center for Houston’s Future which also found that public education funding is dangerously...
Workman power washing a building's exterior

Leveraging Federal Funds to Improve Facilities

September 10, 2021
Texas has a historic opportunity to shape its future with the federal recovery funds it is receiving. The state could free up future general revenue by using a portion of these funds to improve state facilities – including addressing deferred maintenance, replacing aging state hospitals, and providing air conditioning for prisons. One-time payments like these...
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