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60 Results
Prescription opioid medication pills spilled onto table
Baker Briefing: Curbing the Opioid Epidemic in Texas
In the United States, drug overdose deaths are on the rise. In 2022, CDC researchers reported that 110,236 people died from an overdose in a single 12-month period, setting a new record. Synthetic opioid overdose deaths, primarily due to fentanyl, increased nearly 7.5-fold from 2015 to 2021. In Texas, the number of fentanyl-related deaths rose dramatically — from 883 deaths in 2020 to 1,672 deaths in 2021. While Republican lawmakers in Texas have previously opposed harm reduction policies, many have signaled a desire to take policy action to combat the crisis in the 2023 legislative session.
David M. Satterfield, Edward M. Emmett, The Honorable Ed Gonzalez, Katharine Neill Harris, The Honorable Kim Ogg March 8, 2023
Texas flag money
Enhancing Truth-in-Taxation Policies in Texas
Truth-in-taxation measures, which are intended to serve taxpayers, have failed to constrain the property tax burden in Texas, write Jennifer Rabb and Lebena Varghese of the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth. They argue that it is incumbent upon the government to make tax rate notices clear, relevant and above all truthful.
Lebena Varghese, Jennifer Rabb January 17, 2023
Small child reaches into drawer with firearm
Preventing Firearm Injury in the Greater Houston Area through Purpose and Policy: A Review
The first annual Firearm Injury Prevention and Safety Symposium, hosted by the Center for Health and Biosciences in June 2022, brought together researchers, policymakers and community partners committed to ending gun violence. This conference report summarizes the many presentations held at the event, as well as a concrete plan for local action to reduce firearm injury and death.
Sandra McKay, Jacqueline Klotz, Mia Hurts, Bindi Naik-Mathuria October 31, 2022
Flooding from Hurricane Harvey
Houston Flooding 3.5 Years After Harvey
Jim Blackburn, co-director of Rice’s SSPEED Center and a Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar, examines what the city of Houston has done to prepare for flooding and other extreme weather events brought about by climate change since Hurricane Harvey struck Houston more than three years ago.
Jim Blackburn March 2, 2021