| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Negative | Neutral |
Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to increase the maximum bond amount authorized for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
Texas Action opposes HJR 12 on the grounds that it violates the principle of limited government. When CPRIT was first authorized, it was designed to be a temporary program. Rather than double general obligation bond authority for this organization from the current $3 billion to $6 billion, CPRIT should be allowed to sunset as scheduled. This organization is long on spending, short on results, and performs a function that is better left to faith-based and private philanthropic organizations.
Between the federal government and the vast amount of nonprofit organizations in Texas and throughout the United States, funding for cancer research is at an all-time high. A redundancy in this area at the expense of the taxpayer, many of whom voluntarily fund cancer research themselves, is inefficient and unnecessary. Instead the state should encourage the growth of more nonprofit cancer funding by reducing the overall tax burden upon our economy. We do not oppose the mission or goals of CPRIT, but rather prefer for the organization to be entirely funded by private dollars and operate entirely apart from state involvement