The House finds a few extra bucks

Where has this been all along?

State Rep. Rob Orr, R-Burleson, introduced two bills to the House Appropriations Committee that could add several million dollars to the public schools budget over the next two years.

HB 2646 proposes allowing the School Land Board to transfer at least half of the net revenue it collects from a land trust it oversees to the Available School Fund (ASF), an endowment that puts money directly into public schools in Texas. Orr said that pot of money has risen to more than $2.5 billion in market value and contains more than $1 billion in cash. If that trend continues, the fund could supply the state with an additional $500 million in the next biennium.

“I think it’s irresponsible to have that much cash sitting around when our public schools need that money,” Orr said.

Getting this measure to pass requires companion legislation, so Orr is also sponsoring HJR 109, a constitutional amendment that would allow the General Land Office, which oversees land that belongs to the Permanent School Fund, to distribute revenue directly to the ASF. The resolution would be placed before voters during the Nov. 8 election.

I’m not terribly familiar with the details of these funds, but judging by the reaction to Orr’s bills, which range from “sounds OK to me” to “praise Jeebus!”, I welcome the legislation and hope there’s more where it came from.

There’s also this.

The House’s chief champion of giving poor, elderly and disabled Texans discounts on their utility bills is so frustrated, he wants to kill a surcharge funding the program and use all unspent money as a one-time fix for gaping holes in the state’s social services budget.

“The surcharge needs to be ended. You cannot redirect it … and be honest with the people who are paying,” Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said Thursday.

Turner reacted coolly to Senate budget chief Steve Ogden’s suggestion earlier Thursday that the fee money could help pay for Texas’ Medicaid program, presumably on a continuing basis.

“Either you end it or you rename it and call it what it is — a utility tax,” said Turner, vice chairman of House Appropriations.

This is the System Benefit Fund, which is supposed to be used for the purpose of helping the needy pay their utility bills in the summertime but which never gets appropriated for it; the sizable balance of the fund is used to certify the budget. That would be one of the usual accounting tricks the Lege is known for. I too would prefer to see the SBF used for its intended purpose, but if that isn’t going to happen, and history strongly suggests it won’t be, then putting it to use elsewhere is far better than pretending it’s general revenue so it can help balance the budget.

On a more general note, Burka examines the role that House GOP Caucus Chair Larry Taylor may play in determining how far the House will go with ideas for extra revenue. None of this stuff will matter if the slash and burn crowd decides that it’s not really about “living within our means” but about cuts for the sake of cuts.

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