Category Archives: Budget ballyhoo

As noted yesterday by the Yellow Dog Blog, this special session has essentially ceased to be about school finance reform and is instead focusing first on property taxes, with maybe some school stuff thrown in if they can. In particular, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Remember those halcyon days of, um, yesterday, when Tom Craddick could say things like this? The expansion of the sales tax is designed to tap into the growth in the service sector of the Texas economy. “The idea of broadening … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The state House has released a new plan to overhaul state tax collections as part of school finance reform, and to say the least, it’s not timid. It’s also not likely to survive in its present form. I think the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Slot machines at horse racing tracks are all the rage today. Seven Texas racetracks, including Grand Prairie’s Lone Star Park, could function as around-the-clock gambling casinos open 365 days a year under a multibillion-dollar proposal presented to a legislative panel … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s an interesting perspective on why Governor Perry proposed the school finance reform solution that he did. The 134 school districts that lose money under the Robin Hood school finance system serve 12 percent of the state’s students. Voters in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We’re now one week into the special session on school finance reform, and the one thing we know for sure is that the Perry Plan is toast. Neither Tom Craddick nor David Dewhurst has supported it, there’s already an alternate … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rick Perry, last year: “Betting the economy will pick up to solve our budget challenges, rather than making the hard decisions needed, is a recipe for an eventual tax hike,” he warned. “If you remember the cartoon Popeye, then surely … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Perry Plan for school finance reform appears to be officially dead, and other plans are starting to come out of the woodwork. “We’re starting out with a clean slate,” said Rep. Kent Grusendorf, chairman of the House Select Committee … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You know when you’ve taken a good idea too far? Looks like Carole Keeton Strayhorn doesn’t. Opening another front in her criticism of Gov. Rick Perry’s school finance plan, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn on Wednesday said that instead of taxing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is getting to be a sun-rises-in-the-East thing: The Governor and the Comptroller are bickering again over school finance reform proposals. I’ll leave it to you to determine for yourselves who’s zooming who, but in the meantime I’d like to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is a really long post rounding up news stories about the just-begun special session. I didn’t feel like taking up all of the front page, so click on the More link to wade through it all. Continue reading →

Dewhurst and Perry, not on the same page. Signaling deep differences on the threshold of a special session, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Friday the Senate wants to enact a more comprehensive overhaul of education funding — including deeper, immediate … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Great minds think alike – I had exactly the same reaction upon reading this op-ed by Rep. Chris Bell as Greg did, which is to say that it’s the opening shot in Bell’s 2006 run for statewide office. He’s going … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I was too lazy to round up some stories on the long awaited and much dreaded special session on school finance reform from yesterday, but at least I bookmarked the relevant URLs. So let’s look at them now. Houston’s school … Continue reading → Continue reading →

No turning back now, as Governor Perry has made the call for a special session to start on Tuesday, April 20. (See, I was right that it wouldn’t be for the 19th.) What happens from here is anyone’s guess, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Now that Governor Perry has finally unveiled his long-awaited school finance reform plan, when is that long-awaited special session going to be called? He ain’t saying, because he’s still working on consensus. From the Bahamas to Houston, the governor has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Governor Perry finally laid out his school finance reform plan yesterday, and I will give him credit for one thing: he’s finally recognized that some new money needs to be injected into the system. Reaction to his announcement was better … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Get ready, because Governor Perry will finally unveil his school finance reform proposals today in San Antonio. Richard Olivarez, superintendent of the San Antonio School District, said he would welcome Perry to Fox Tech High School on Thursday, but hopes … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It appears to be official now that Governor Perry really truly will call a special session on school finance reform later this month even though he still doesn’t have anything resembling the kind of consensus he claimed to want as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

These things really do write themselves sometimes. Gov. Rick Perry would like to call a special session on school finance to begin in the middle of this month, spokeswoman Kathy Walt indicated Monday. But she said that Perry hadn’t yet … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Governor Perry apparently wants to call that special session on school finance reform some time in mid-April. He also wants to have a consensus on how to proceed before calling the session. Right now, these two desires are at odds … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Is Governor Perry about to call a special session on school finance reform for later this month? The DMN says Yes. The long-awaited special legislative session on school finance will begin later this month – probably on April 19 – … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’m beginning to think that I ought to just create a template for posts about when Comptroller Strayhorn rips the Governor a new one. For sure I’d get at least weekly usage out of it. “It’s time to stop the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Over the weekend, our only Governor reported that progress has been made towards a consensus that would allow for him to call for a special session on school finance reform. Perry, a Republican, said his meeting with about 50 members … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s an example of how that “no tax increase” pledge from the last legislative session works in real life, from Lubbock. Cuts in Medicaid and a state insurance program for children as well as decreases in private employee insurance are … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If we do in fact have a special session on school finance reform, the blocker bill and its 2/3 majority requirement for bringing a bill to the Senate floor for debate will be in effect, according to Lt. Gov. David … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Governor Perry has promised to call a special session on school finance reform as soon as “consensus” is reached on how to replace the Robin Hood system. A quick look around is all you need to see that there’s a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

State Rep. Scott Hochberg (D, Houston) makes some good points in this piece in which he defends the much-maligned and marked for death Robin Hood system of distributing property tax revenues to school districts. Here’s something you probably didn’t know: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Harris County Judge Robert Eckels is going to bat for Governor Perry’s proposed property tax rate increase cap. Eckels, who joined two state legislators on a three-city tour organized by the governor’s staff, said Perry has taken a “courageous stand” … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve harped on the correlation between our lock ’em up mentality in this state and our recent budget shortfalls (see here, here, here, and here for earlier installments). Slowly but surely, that idea is taking hold to the Lege. “I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Select Committee on School Finance has issued its final report (PDF) for your perusal. Individual pages load really really slowly for me, so I haven’t given it more than a quick glance as yet. I will note, as the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As he departs for sunny Italy, Governor Perry is getting another pounding in the editorial pages. Here’s a little sample to brighten your day. From the Dallas Morning News: Gov. Rick Perry’s proposal to put a 3 percent annual cap … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If you had any optimism about the potential of a special session on school finance reform to actually improve schools and funding for them, Governor Perry was in town to kill all hope of that. Perry wants to limit home … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The ongoing will-they-or-won’t-they tango on school finance reform took another step closer towards that dreaded special session. Talk at the Capitol finally turns to taxes this week, the remaining piece in a school finance puzzle that could lead to a … Continue reading → Continue reading →