Category Archives: Budget ballyhoo

The State Senate approved their versions of HBs 2, 3, and 4 yesterday, with HB3 passing through as is. Here’s a news roundup of the action: Chron: The Senate made no changes to the business tax bill passed last week … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via the Quorum Report, here’s something that I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere: Analyst Dick Lavine of the Center for Public Policy Priorities warns dedicating the combined revenues of House Bills 3,4 and 5 only to property tax relief could seriously … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We’re at a bit of an intermission in the special session (just past it now, actually), what with the House waiting on the Senate and the Senate getting started on its business. That makes this a good time to review … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Another damning article on the lousy, screwed-up state of affairs in the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) since the privatization effort began. Problems include: State officials on Friday abandoned plans to drop 28,000 more children from the Children’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Not much drama in the Senate yesterday. A Senate committee passed the House business tax bill without making any changes Friday, greatly increasing the likelihood that it will become law. “This is an attempt to make sure that House Bill … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Matt has a copy of a letter, now circulating the Senate, signed by about a dozen citizens’ and teachers’ groups, that call on the Senate to reject the House’s approach and take positive action on school reform. In particular: Together, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One of the five bills relating to the tax overhaul failed to make it through the House on Monday. That was HB5, which was responsible for raising the cigarette tax. All I knew was that it had been killed by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

While we wait for the Senate Finance Committee to start work tomorrow, here’s a roundup of what’s being said about the current state of things. Chron: Perry sure, Dewhurst not so much Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday he is confident … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In addition to my conversation with Rep. Mike Villarreal, I also spoke to Rep. Rick Noriega about HB3 and the reasons why (unlike Rep. Villarreal) he opposed it. The highlights: – While he believes it’s not a bad idea to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

State Rep. Mike Villarreal is a member of the Ways and Means committee, and one of eight Democrats in the House to vote in favor of HB3 on Monday. (A full list of who voted for what can be found … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This really annoys me. One could read this Chron piece on how HB3 was passed and come away with the impression that the only debate over the bill was between conservatives who wanted to cut property taxes by raiding the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In writing about what I think of the legislative action on Monday, I’m going to start with a long quote from Rep. Garnet Coleman, which I take from this useful Capitol Annex post that gives an overview of how everyone … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ultimately, the new business tax plan, written into HB3, passed the House on first reading last night. There’s still another round of approval for it before it goes to the Senate, but I think it’s safe to say that it’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As I understand it, the debate on HB3 will be going till midnight or so. That’s past my bedtime, so I’ll do a link roundup now and figure out the news in the morning. Here’s what we know so far. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

With five bills comprising the TTRC plan to be debated, there’s a lot of moving parts to keep track of. Here’s what we know so far: Debate on HB3 has been postponed until 1 PM, which is to say right … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is set to take place in less than an hour in the Capitol. Call me crazy, but I don’t think these folks are gonna get embraced by the state Republican leadership. Whether they represent enough of a force to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rep. Aaron Pena talks about the rules changes that were passed in the House on Friday and on the current level of support for HB1, a/k/k the Get Out Of Dodge plan. The full floor debate in the House on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Remember how the issue of whether or not the Texas Tax Reform Commission plan was an unconstitutional income tax or not was settled by an opinion from AG Greg Abbott? Well, maybe it’s not so settled. Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yesterday, more of the TTRC tax plan passed through Ways and Means, and more noise was made on behalf of actually doing something about school finance this session. “There’s a lot of support for a teacher pay raise, both Republicans … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If a title like that doesn’t get your heart beating…well, okay, I’d understand. The fine folks at the CPPP have been very busy pumping out the position papers and analyses lately. This one, on Senate Bills 13 and 16, is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Let me join Greg in saying that this Chron editorial hits the nail on the head. WITH almost one-fourth of Texans lacking health insurance, it’s hard to see how things could get much worse. But they are, at alarming speed: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Many things are happening in the Lege. Let’s start with this: A procedural rule will be introduced tomorrow in the House as the first frontal assault on teachers, schools, and school districts. The rule will dictate the procedure of the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

House Bill 1, known not-so-affectionately as the “Get Out Of Dodge” plan, has passed out of committee. House Bill 1 by Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, would use $2.4 billion of the state’s $8.2 billion surplus for a 12 percent property … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Score one for Governor Perry: The previously recalcitrant Texas Medical Association (TMA) has agreed to endorse the Texas Tax Reform Commission’s business tax plan. The TMA had opposed the expanded business tax that Perry is promoting to help pay for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s time once again to play Let’s Bash HHSC Privatization! Anyone can play, but it’s more fun if you have a say in how the contractor gets paid. Angry House budget writers demanded Monday to know if the state will … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Once the news that the current budget surplus was bigger than first projected hit the streets, it was just a matter of time before this happened. Gov. Rick Perry says a new, higher budget surplus can be used partly to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You’ve seen this everywhere else by now, so now see it here: The head of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s gavel came off as he brought the Senate to order this afternoon. Dewhurst, putting the dealie back on, told members in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Well, it’s special session time again. I don’t know what to expect any more than you do. It’s not clear yet where all the battle lines have been drawn – among other things, as noted in the Chron article, neither … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As we get ready for the start of the special session on Monday, here’s a preview of how the arguments against the Texas Tax Reform Commission (TTRC) plan will shape up. From the Democrats: The plan will inadequately fund schools. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

First things first: Via Aaron Pena, the State House is preparing a bill to implement the recommendations of the Texas Tax Reform Commission. Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick said Wednesday he expects a version of Gov. Rick Perry’s $6 billion … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Hope sent me the following email, which may be of interest to readers here: HHS is seeking public input on the Coordinated Strategic Plan Texas’ five health and human services agencies will conduct public hearings in eight Texas cities for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Vince points to this El Paso Times story, which notes that the same flaw exists in the TTRC plan as was in the previous tax-swap plan, albeit to a lesser degree: Most people won’t get much of a tax reduction, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The totally non-shocking headline says it all: Leaders’ lack of consensus threatens Perry tax plan. More than a week after the governor officially announced his plan to buy down property taxes with revenue from a new broad-based business tax and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Hey, you know that budget surplus we’ve got and how it’s being eyed by some people as a solution to the property tax problem and the school finance lawsuit. Eye on Williamson points to a couple of articles that explain … Continue reading → Continue reading →