Category Archives: Budget ballyhoo

Amazon sues Texas

Posted on January 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. Four months after Texas officials told Amazon.com Inc. that it owes $269 million in uncollected sales taxes, the online retail giant has filed a lawsuit demanding that the comptroller’s office release the audit information it used in arriving … Continue reading →

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What school districts may do to respond to the budget cuts

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They may raise taxes: Some school officials also are considering even more unpopular options – increasing property tax rates or eliminating special tax breaks. In some cases, even those moves aren’t expected to raise enough money to plug the worst-case … Continue reading →

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Closing loopholes

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, from Rep. Mike Villarreal: Rep. Villarreal announced legislation to close a $20 million corporate tax giveaway, citing it as an example of how the state’s outmoded tax system created the current fiscal crisis. “With the state’s fiscal … Continue reading →

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LSG on the budget

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Legislative Study Group, chaired by Rep. Garnet Coleman, now has an analysis of the Pitts budget outline, which you can read here. The main point to remember: How We Got Here: Built-In Budget Shortfall Comes from the 2006 Tax … Continue reading →

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The Pitts budget

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is, and if it is a shock to you, you haven’t been paying attention. The House’s starting-point budget proposal would provide for a total budget of $156.4 billion in state and federal money, a decrease of $31.1 billion, … Continue reading →

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LBB recommendations

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still waiting on the Pitts “You’re gonna get it good and hard” budget, but until then the Legislative Budget Board has released a list of recommendations for savings, which you can see here, that’s worth reviewing. There’s some good … Continue reading →

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This is your government on dogma

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We won’t get Jim Pitts’ bare bones budget outline till late tonight, so as not to be a buzzkill on the Perry coronation inauguration. We did, however, get an opening bid from the ideological purists, and while it’s not worth … Continue reading →

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The state of denial

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Well, what did you expect? How bad is the budget crisis in Texas? Ask the Republicans who run the state, and they’ll tell you it’s in the eye of the beholder. The way they see it, the $8 billion drop … Continue reading →

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From the “I told you so” department

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ladies and gentlemen, our former Comptroller: Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn did not win friends five years ago when she warned Gov. Rick Perry and state lawmakers they were writing the “largest hot check in Texas history” during a tax overhaul … Continue reading →

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What school districts have to look forward to

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From San Antonio: The San Antonio Independent School District is bracing for $33 million to $55 million in cuts for the coming fiscal year, due mainly to the state budget shortfall. The trustees Tuesday night discussed options to reduce costs … Continue reading →

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Public universities can read the writing on the wall

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

With polling evidence suggesting that people are willing to accept some cuts in higher education funding, the only question for public universities and community colleges is how bad will it be? “I think all of us felt as though we … Continue reading →

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The gambling industry keeps trying

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure how successful an approach this will be, but I guess it’s better than nothing. Expanding gaming requires a vote of two-thirds of the legislature, with voters getting the final say. A new poll done for the Chronicle … Continue reading →

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Cities and counties prepare to play defense

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be a rough session for cities and counties, who have every reason to believe that a large part of the Lege’s budget-balancing strategy will be to foist expenses on them. “As will all of the big cities … Continue reading →

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Voters say they don’t want spending cuts

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

According to one poll, anyway. Voters gave Republicans an overwhelming victory in November, leaving the GOP with nearly two-thirds of the seats in the Legislature and every statewide office. Many have interpreted the election as a clear call for spending … Continue reading →

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There’s still no such thing as a rainy day

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Having been in denial about the size of the budget deficit, Governor Perry goes into denial about how to deal with it. Gov. Rick Perry on Monday said he was opposed to using the state’s rainy day fund to help … Continue reading →

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We have a number for the hole

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s actually more than one number that can be used to accurately describe the state budget deficit, depending on what your perspective is, but however you look at it, it’s big and it’s no longer projected or theoretical. State Comptroller … Continue reading →

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Please use the Rainy Day Fund

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have any faith that those who need to hear this are listening, but as the 82nd Lege gets gaveled in today, it still needs to be said. A coalition of progressive organizations from throughout Texas called for “a … Continue reading →

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Krugman on the Texas budget deficit

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

By now, you’ve probably seen Paul Krugman’s column about the Texas budget deficit. He uses it to make some great points about the failure of the conservative slash-and-burn approach, but he missed a couple of facts that make it all … Continue reading →

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Steroid testing can never fail, it can only be failed

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s definition of insanity time. Don Hooton’s anti-steroid message aimed at young athletes has never been more in demand. The foundation he started six years ago in the wake of his teenage son’s suicide, attributed to steroid use, has grown … Continue reading →

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Big Tobacco wants higher taxes on Little Tobacco

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure why we’re even talking about this since the Republicans aren’t interested in anything other than slashing and burning, but for the record: Texas is only one of two states that do not impose a fee on off-brand … Continue reading →

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The pushback on class size limits

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN continues its commendable work on the upcoming legislative fight over class size limits by writing about the skeptics of smaller class sizes. The most comprehensive assessment dates back just as far as the Texas law, to a four-year … Continue reading →

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We get the college graduation rates we pay for

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Just a couple of related items of interest. First, from the man who would be Governor if we lived in a just world. In the last 30 years, Americans with only a high school diploma experienced a drop in average … Continue reading →

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Still more on class size limits

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Real good article in the Press about class size limits and the possible effects of raising them, which I’ve written about before. A couple of points: A famous education study done in Tennessee in the 1980s shows class size matters. … Continue reading →

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These are only “hard choices” for some people

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I suspect that for too many members of the incoming Legislature, the decisions they’ll be making about the budget will be ones they’re not at all uncomfortable with. The Legislature’s Republican leadership will confront weighty questions, such as how many … Continue reading →

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Teach For America grants

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In other education and budget news, there’s this. Texas lawmakers have ordered a study of Teach for America to help determine if the Peace Corps-like program, which recruits top college graduates to work in needy schools, is worth the state’s … Continue reading →

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The coming fight over class sizes

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve discussed the looming cuts to public education, in which the focus of the battle will be class size limits, which are currently mandated at 22 students per classroom. That was part of the sweeping 1984 overhaul of the education … Continue reading →

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More non-specific cuts discussed: Film at 11

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this story about impending budget cuts to public higher education. Colleges and universities expect double-digit cuts. Financial aid may be cut, too. “There’s no way to get through this without somebody being impacted,” … Continue reading →

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Where the state cuts meet the local budgets

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via Grits, an editorial in the Longview News-Journal of interest: Routine mental health services were the first to fall during the 2003 budget crisis, which was preceded by pre-session cuts the fall and summer of 2002. East Texas mental health … Continue reading →

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You can cut services, but you can’t reduce the demand for them

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Another look at what we’ll be facing next year. With state leaders saying the November election sent a no-new-taxes, lean-government message, no program is expected to escape the knife – including education and health and human services, which take up … Continue reading →

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State officially begins the IBM termination process

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Been a long time coming. The state gave notice to IBM [last] week that it will terminate the troubled $863 million data center consolidation contract. The process could take a full two years as the Department of Information Resources finds … Continue reading →

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You’re gonna miss it when it’s gone

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So long, stimulus dollars. You were nice while you lasted. Texas’ $16.4 billion share of federal stimulus money winds down next year, a fading boon that will affect Houston jobs and research from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to the … Continue reading →

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Update on the next school finance lawsuit

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s coming, but schools are going to wait to see what the Lege does before proceeding with the inevitable. “School districts right now are in a state of shock,” [Austin litigator Buck] Wood said. “Things are much worse than even … Continue reading →

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The coming cuts to public education

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We know that public education is a huge part of the state’s budget, and in the absence of any willingness on the part of the Republicans to ensure that it’s properly funded, we know there will be cuts coming. How … Continue reading →

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Taxes and fees

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The last time a Republican-dominated Legislature got together to deal with a multi-billion dollar deficit, they found many ways to squeeze more money out of the citizenry through more and higher fees, though they later bragged about not raising taxes. … Continue reading →

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