Category Archives: Budget ballyhoo

It’s been a busy week for suing the state of Texas. Edd Hendee, executive director of Citizens Lowering Our Unfair Taxes, sued Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Speaker Tom Craddick, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and the Legislative Budget Board. “The limitations … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron editorializes about the faxes to nowhere, and in doing so they say what should be done next. Stop further CHIP disenrollments until Accenture meets basic performance levels. Request that the 2007 Legislature reinstate 12-month eligibility for CHIP/Medicaid enrollment. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I have written before about how the changes to the school finance funding formula enacted in the last special session have been received by the plaintiffs in the West Orange-Cove lawsuit. Their contention that the requirement of a referendum to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s time for another stupid and inexcusable screwup by everyone’s favorite privatization project. Three months ago, dozens of documents from Texas containing highly confidential financial and health information began arriving over a fax machine at a Seattle warehouse. Shaun Peck, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s nothing I haven’t written before, but I like it when folks such as Harvey Kronberg agree with me, in this case about the real outcome of the special session. First, [the West Orange-Cove plaintiffs] correctly said that the recently … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Previously, I noted that US Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D, San Antonio) and three of his colleagues sent a letter to Governor Perry expressing their concerns over the manifest failures of the THHSC privatization effort. At the time, I could not … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Accenture/Texas Health and Human Services outsourcing debacle is getting some attention from Congress. Declaring it a failed experiment that is harming the neediest in the state, a group of Texas congressmen including Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, a San Antonio Democrat, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Eye on Williamson, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has admitted that there’s still a few bugs in the school finance system. In a visit with the Chronicle editorial board this week, Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst devoted much of his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Over at Kuff’s World, I’ve got the news that the injunction against the state that forced it to deal with the West Orange-Cove school finance lawsuit by June 1 of this year has been lifted. All the relevant documents are … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Didn’t get to this one yesterday, but Governor Perry signed HB2, the most starkly partisan of the five tax bills from the special session, into law. Gov. Rick Perry signed a law Tuesday assuring that revenue from new, higher state … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Some time before close of business on June 1, the state of Texas will file a motion to lift the injunction imposed by the State Supreme Court ruling in November that declared the property tax system unconstitutional. The plaintiffs in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Both the Chron and Express News political blogs note that Governor Perry is rolling out an ad campaign to tout property tax relief. In doing so, he’s playing quite a bit fast and loose with the math. From the E-N … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Never one to let an opportunity pass by, Carole Keeton Strayhorn has announced that if elected Governor, she will repeal the new business tax. Here’s her press release (Word doc): “Gov. Perry said he was signing the largest tax increase … Continue reading → Continue reading →

That’s the Texas Push-Button Bureaucracy-Eliminating Paper-Pusher Massacre, also known as the great Texas Health and Human Services Commission privatization scam. The article the describes it does a nice job on the history and current status of this fiasco. Link via … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m going to return to a theme for a minute here. Take a look at this bit from Gardner Selby‘s piece on why the special session was good for Governor Perry, where Selby discusses the potential downside. No matter how … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So the Lege wrapped up its business yesterday and went home, having sent all of the tax-related bills to Governor Perry for his signature. So now what? Well, to start off wit, Perry is denying that the massive cut in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just when you thought it was safe to blog about other stuff this weekend, the Senate Finance Committee managed to slip through a proposed constitutional amendment that would cap school property taxes at $1.15 per $100 valuation. The bill is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

According to QR and the Dallas Blog, the Senate has just about wrapped up all of the business in front of it, meaning that they and the State House will get the weekend off. At this point, there’s nothing else … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And we’re still not finished yet: Late yesterday, Speaker Craddick promised to send HB5 back to the Senate for being insufficiently doctrinaire. Speaker Tom Craddick said the House will reject the Senate version of the tobacco bill because it dedicates … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Governor Perry is feeling confident about now, and I can’t say I blame him. Signaling the likely passage of tax cut legislation, Gov. Rick Perry today opened the special legislative session’s call to include new funding for the state’s college’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In case you missed my late update yesterday, the Senate finally passed HBs 1 and 5. At this point, final passage by the House is expected shortly. House Speaker Tom Craddick said late Wednesday he would urge House members to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And the great boondoggle outsourcing of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) to Accenture takes failure to another level. Effective immediately, state workers again will be responsible for processing applications for assistance programs such as food stamps and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Aaron Pena quotes from a Quorum Report story that says a deal has apparently been brokered on equity and recapture in the Senate. This is was had Sen. Florence Shapiro’s hackles up. Sayeth The Rep: “The compromise plan has the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Duncan-Staples amendment to HB1, which restores a measure of equity in funding for poorer school districts, was praised by school groups yesterday, though the bill that contains the amendment was not. The groups, including the Texas Association of School … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just a quick roundup of special session coverage, from the Chron, Statesman, Morning News, Express News, and Star Telegram. Key points, from the Star Telegram: On a 21-10 vote, the Texas Senate adopted House Bill 4, which will raise another … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Lege accomplished one task today, passing HB4, the so-called Liar’s Affidavit, thus sending it to Governor Perry for a signature. The House has approved a conference committee version of the “liar’s affidavit” bill. That bill would require buyers of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron does a “who wins and who loses” story on the new business tax plan. This is of course useful information, for reasons political and not, but I’m always wary of stuff like this: Lenin Juarez and Terri King … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We’ve been busy around the house today so I’m a little short on time, but there was some excitement in the State Senate yesterday around HB1. Here’s the Chron story: Tempers flared and several senators walked out in a dispute … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You couldn’t come up with a better illustration of the abject failure that privatization of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) has been than this story. State welfare workers who were destined for pink slips to make way … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Why is there such an uproar over the Senate proposal to eliminate the $500 health insurance supplement for school support staff? Via PinkDome, here’s one reason: Everyone with health insurance is used to seeing their premiums increase every year, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There’s now a proposal within HB1, still under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee, to require a fourth year of science and math in Texas high schools. [I]f state lawmakers approve a proposal that’s part of the school finance package … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Phillip Martin writes a letter to State Sen. Florence Shapiro: It has come to my understanding that you recently added a provision to the committee substitute to House Bill 1 that stops the Texas Education Association from ordering new elementary … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is what people mean when they say “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”. HB3, Gov. Perry’s proposed business tax expansion, was derailed, at least temporarily, today when Sen. Mike Jackson, R-Pasadena, voted against the procedural two-thirds “rule” on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Amid the backslapping of the Senate’s passage of the three HBs yesterday comes this little tempest in a teapot, by way of Cap Inside: Fireworks could be about to erupt in the Texas Senate over a freeze on new math … Continue reading → Continue reading →