Category Archives: Budget ballyhoo

No Paxton settlement money in the budget

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege takes a stand. Texas budget negotiators want to ban Attorney General Ken Paxton from using state funds to pay a $3.3 million whistleblower settlement. This week, they adopted a provision that would bar the Office of the Attorney General from using … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, Blake Brickman, bribery, budget, Dade Phelan, David Maxwell, FBI, Greg Bonnen, Jeff Leach, Joan Huffman, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Mark Penley, Nate Paul, Ryan Vassar, Senate, Texas, Texas Whistleblower Act, The Lege | 1 Comment

Abbott follows through on veto of legislative funding

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

So here we go. Gov. Greg Abbott followed through Friday on a threat to veto a section of the state budget that funds the Texas Legislature, its staffers and legislative agencies. The governor’s move targeting lawmaker pay comes after House … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, Dade Phelan, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, line item veto, quorum, special session, Supreme Court, Texas, The Lege, veto | 4 Comments

House passes its budget

Posted on April 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The rites of spring in Texas: The start of baseball season, the first 90-degree day, and in odd-numbered years, the House Budget Amendment-Palooza. The Texas House on Thursday night unanimously passed its proposed two-year, $246 billion state budget after members … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged Abel Herrero, Attorney General, budget, Congress, coronavirus, Dade Phelan, Garnet Coleman, Geanie Morrison, Google, Jessica Gonzalez, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Lyle Larson, Medicaid, Senate, special session, stimulus, Texas, The Lege, vouchers | Comments Off

Today is not the day we expand Medicaid

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow isn’t looking so good either. The Texas House on Thursday rejected an attempt to direct the governor and state health officials to use billions in federal dollars to expand health care coverage for uninsured Texans, including working poor who … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Congress, Garnet Coleman, Giovanni Capriglione, Greg Abbott, health care, health insurance, Joe Biden, Julie Johnson, Medicaid, Richard Raymond, Texas, The Lege, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services | 1 Comment

Where are the stimulus funds for the schools?

Posted on April 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Ridiculous. For more than a year, the federal government has been pumping billions of dollars into school districts across the country to help them meet the demands of the pandemic. Most states have used that pot of stimulus funds as … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Congress, Greg Abbott, Harold Dutton, Jane Nelson, property taxes, Raise Your Hand Texas, school finance, schools, stimulus, Texas, The Lege, US Department of Education | 1 Comment

Republicans will never hold Ken Paxton accountable for anything

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t be a chump and expect them to. Texas lawmakers are preparing to arm Attorney General Ken Paxton with $43 million to fight Google in court. A key committee in the State Senate on Wednesday amended its proposed budget for … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged Attorney General, budget, Google, Jane Nelson, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

Will the Lege cut Ken Paxton’s budget?

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The first draft budget includes a significant cut, but it’s early days. Already under investigation by the FBI and facing calls to resign from both the left and the right, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton now has the Texas Legislature … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, Google, Jane Nelson, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Paul Bettencourt, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 5 Comments

Here’s the official budget forecast

Posted on January 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

“Could be worse” remains the watchword. Texas lawmakers will enter the legislative session this week with an estimated $112.5 billion available to allocate for general purpose spending in the next two-year state budget, a number that’s down slightly from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged Angie Chen Button, budget, casinos, Comptroller, coronavirus, Dan Patrick, deficit, economy, gambling, Glenn Hegar, Greg Abbott, health insurance, Kelly Hancock, Lyle Larson, marijuana, Medicaid, Morgan Meyer, Paul Bettencourt, rainy day fund, sales taxes, school finance, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 3 Comments

Another way Ken Paxton is costing you money

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He’s something else, this guy. Texas may pay tens of millions of dollars to outside attorneys hired to handle a major lawsuit against Google — money the state did not plan to spend before a scandal enveloped Texas Attorney General … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, Legal matters, Scandalized!, That's our Lege | Tagged Attorney General, bribery, budget, Darren McCarty, Google, Jeff Mateer, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Mark Lanier, Nate Paul, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

State budget situation not quite as awful as feared

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Still bad, but could be worse. Despite “historic declines,” state lawmakers will have more money to work with in the upcoming legislative session than Comptroller Glenn Hegar expected over the summer, he said Monday. But Hegar did not outline specifics … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, casinos, Comptroller, coronavirus, deficit, economy, gambling, Glenn Hegar, Greg Abbott, marijuana, rainy day fund, sales taxes, school finance, Susan Combs, Texas | Comments Off

The state deficit is quantified

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Honestly, it’s not as bad as it could be. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar delivered bleak but unsurprising news Monday: Because of the economic fallout triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the amount of general revenue available for the state’s current two-year … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, coronavirus, Dan Patrick, deficit, economy, Glenn Hegar, rainy day fund, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

How low can sales tax collections go?

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

If we’re lucky, no lower than this. Texas collected about $2.6 billion in state sales tax revenue in May, leading to the steepest year-over-year decline in over a decade, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Monday. The amount is 13.2% less than … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Comptroller, coronavirus, economy, Glenn Hegar, quarantine, sales taxes, Texas | 1 Comment

Down go the sales tax receipts

Posted on May 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s bad. Expected, but bad. Texas collected $2.58 billion in state sales tax revenue in April — a roughly 9% drop from what the state collected the same month last year, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Friday. That drop, from $2.8 … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Comptroller, coronavirus, economy, Glenn Hegar, quarantine, sales taxes, Texas | Comments Off

Cities and counties are going to need their own bailout

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This story is about the rough financial future that the city of Houston faces as we go through the coronavirus shutdown, but it’s not just Houston that is in this position. As Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration continues efforts to slow … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Chris Brown, Congress, coronavirus, deficit, Houston, Houston City Council, revenue cap, sales taxes, Sylvester Turner, Texas | 6 Comments

Coronavirus and the state budget

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ain’t gonna be great. How bad, we don’t yet know. Comptroller Glenn Hegar briefed Texas House members on the state’s economy and budget Sunday night, saying that while it was too soon for specific forecasts, both are expected to take … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Comptroller, coronavirus, deficit, Dennis Bonnen, Glenn Hegar, Greg Abbott, Houston, rainy day fund, revenue cap, sales taxes, special session, Texas, The Lege | 2 Comments

Dan Patrick’s budget destruction

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not what you think it is, but it’s still bad. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Texas state government, an arcane team of 100 or so budget nerds has led a private, if stressful, life — running financial … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Dan Patrick, Dennis Bonnen, Election 2020, Jane Nelson, John Zerwas, Legislative Budget Board, Senate, Speaker's race, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

More info on the school finance bill

Posted on May 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s what we know. Before final negotiations, the House’s version of HB 3 cost $9.4 billion, and the Senate’s cost a whopping $14.8 billion, according to Texas Education Agency calculations. The final cost is around $11.6 billion, according to lawmakers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged Dan Patrick, Dennis Bonnen, Greg Abbott, local option election, pre-kindergarten, property taxes, recapture, revenue cap, school finance, school finance reform, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

The tax swap is dead

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

For this session, at least. Most likely, barring anything strange. State Rep. Dan Huberty, the top public education leader in the Texas House, postponed two items of legislation Tuesday that would pay for long-term, ongoing school district tax cuts by … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Dan Huberty, Dan Patrick, Dennis Bonnen, Greg Abbott, Paul Bettencourt, property taxes, sales taxes, school finance, school finance reform, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

Where goes the tax swap plan from here?

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We start with the double down. Showing their usual united front, the state’s “Big Three” political leaders on Friday tried to remake their case for why the Texas Legislature should deliver on long-term, ongoing property tax relief before the session … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, constitutional amendments, Dan Huberty, Dan Patrick, Dennis Bonnen, Greg Abbott, Kirk Watson, Larry Taylor, Legislative Budget Board, property taxes, sales taxes, school finance, school finance reform, Senate, Texas, The Lege | 2 Comments

More action on the school finance/property tax front

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From Tuesday: The Texas House gave preliminary approval to a priority property tax reform package Tuesday, teeing it up for negotiations with the Senate and impelling the upper chamber to act on an omnibus school finance measure. Together, the education … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Charlie Geren, Dan Huberty, Dan Patrick, Dustin Burrows, Greg Abbott, Larry Taylor, Paul Bettencourt, property taxes, sales taxes, school finance, school finance reform, Senate, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

No-nuke version of SB2 passes the Senate

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Dan Patrick gets his bill, without having to do any nasty partisan maneuvering. The Texas Senate broke a logjam Monday that had paralyzed a piece of priority legislation for weeks — blunting a controversial provision in its property tax reform … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Dan Patrick, Kel Seliger, Paul Bettencourt, property taxes, Senate, Texas, The Lege, two thirds rule | 1 Comment

House approves budget, and other news

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Always a major milestone. In Dennis Bonnen’s first major test as speaker of the Texas House, the chamber he oversees resoundingly passed a $251 billion budget Wednesday after a long but largely civil debate — a departure from the dramatics … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged appraisal caps, budget, Comptroller, Dennis Bonnen, Drew Springer, Dustin Burrows, Election 2018, feral hogs, Hurricane Harvey, John Zerwas, Jonathan Stickland, Lite Gov, Medicaid, Mike Collier, property taxes, revenue cap, school finance, school finance reform, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Inevitably, we come back to a sales tax/property tax swap

Posted on March 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an idea we just can’t seem to quit. Texas lawmakers are considering an infusion of $9 billion to improve public schools and lower property taxes over the next two years. The additional $6.3 billion in the classroom is being … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Chris Turner, CPPP, Dan Huberty, Drew Springer, John Zerwas, property taxes, sales taxes, school finance, schools, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

House passes its budget out of committee

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

On to the full House, then the real fight occurs. A panel of House budget writers gave initial approval Monday to a budget that would spend $115 billion in state funds, including a $9 billion infusion of new funds for … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Dennis Bonnen, John Zerwas, Matt Schaefer, property taxes, rainy day fund, school finance, schools, Senate, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

What’s wrong with the Permanent School Fund?

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

For starters, it should have more money in it. It was a grand promise, one our forefathers made 165 years ago to all Texas children, to theirs and ours and those not yet born. With $2 million and the state’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged ethics, George P. Bush, Land Commissioner, Permanent School Fund, SBOE, school finance, schools, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

Always beware revenue caps

Posted on February 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They’re always a bad idea. Flanked by the state’s top legislative leaders, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that both chambers of the Texas Legislature will push to curb property tax growth by limiting how much money local governments collect without … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Dan Patrick, Dennis Bonnen, Greg Abbott, property taxes, revenue cap, school finance, schools, Senate, Texas, Texas Municipal League, The Lege | 12 Comments

State House mulls big increase in school funding

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a good start. As Texas’ Republican leadership calls for property tax cuts and a school finance overhaul, the Texas House on Monday pitched a bold proposal: Pump roughly $7 billion more state funds into public schools — but only … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Dan Patrick, Dennis Bonnen, Greg Abbott, Jane Nelson, Legislative Budget Board, property taxes, rainy day fund, school finance, school finance reform, schools, Senate, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Our pretty decent revenue estimate

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve seen much worse. At a time when legislators are vowing to spend more money on public schools and slow the growth of Texans’ property tax bills, the state should have enough money at its disposal to do just that. … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Comptroller, economy, Glenn Hegar, Greg Abbott, Hurricane Harvey, property taxes, rainy day fund, school finance reform, schools, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Here comes the latest school finance report

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I figure the smart money is always on efforts like this to fail, but you never know. After hours of discussion Wednesday, a state panel studying school finance stripped its final report of language that blamed the state for inadequate … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Dan Huberty, Greg Abbott, Joe Straus, property taxes, school finance, school finance reform, schools, Scott Brister, Texas, The Lege | 2 Comments

Property tax revenue up, school funding down

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to Texas. An early projection has Texas decreasing state funding to public education, and largely using local taxes to fill the gap. In its preliminary budget request ahead of next year’s legislative session, the Texas Education Agency projected a … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Election 2018, Foundation School Program, Lite Gov, Mike Collier, Mike Morath, property taxes, school finance, schools, Texas, Texas Education Agency, The Lege | Comments Off

Many more school districts are feeling the pinch

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not just HISD. Not by a long shot. For eight-straight years, Cypress-Fairbanks and Conroe ISDs earned the Texas Smart Schools Award, bestowed on school districts with prudent financial practices and high academic achievement. Now, Cypress-Fairbanks faces a $50 million deficit … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, School days, That's our Lege | Tagged budget, Conroe, Cypress-Fairbanks, Dan Huberty, Dan Patrick, HISD, Pasadena ISD, Paul Bettencourt, property taxes, school finance, school finance reform, schools, Spring Branch, Texas, The Lege | 7 Comments

From the “Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash” files

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Same song, second verse. If budget writers don’t come up with money to address a state employee pension shortfall and mounting needs for public schools, health care and transportation, credit agencies are likely to downgrade Texas’ AAA rating in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Comptroller, economy, Glenn Hegar, Hurricane Harvey, Medicaid, pension fund, rainy day fund, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

From the “Nothin’ but good times ahead” department

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Given the good economic conditions in Texas right now, you’d think the budget outlook would be better than it is. The Texas economy is growing healthily, but that doesn’t mean state budget writers will have more money at their disposal … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged budget, Comptroller, Constitution, economy, Glenn Hegar, Greg Abbott, Hurricane Harvey, Medicaid, rainy day fund, sales taxes, Texas, The Lege, TxDOT | 1 Comment

The Harvey effect on the state budget

Posted on December 10, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

You know what the solution to this is, right? Senate leaders warned Tuesday that Hurricane Harvey could put a billion-dollar hole in Texas’ budget, an ever-growing number that could affect how much money is available for other state programs. Only … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, Hurricane Katrina, That's our Lege | Tagged budget, George P. Bush, Hurricane Harvey, Jane Nelson, rainy day fund, Royce West, special session, Texas, The Lege, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | Comments Off

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