Tag Archives: budget

Revenue cap will stay in place

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Boo, hiss. Houston voters will not be given the option this fall of passing a property tax hike after a City Council committee on Thursday unanimously recommended leaving the city’s much-maligned revenue cap alone. […] The topic has received less … Continue reading →

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More pre-K bills filed

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer has the best reporting on the latest pre-k bills that have been filed in the Lege. There’s widespread support around the Capitol for more state spending on pre-kindergarten programs, and much less agreement about how to do it. … Continue reading →

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Judge Dietz would like the Lege to please fix school finance already

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So would the rest of us, Your Honor. In his first major appearance since finding the Texas school finance system unconstitutional in 2014, state District Judge John Dietz said Sunday that a solution to the state’s unequal and ineffective public … Continue reading →

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We can always pay for tax cuts later

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Item One: Texas House leaders said Monday they can cut taxes by more than the $4 billion initially proposed by their Senate counterparts, upping the ante for the high-profile issue despite other looming big-ticket state needs. “We really believe that … Continue reading →

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HPD to get a pay raise

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker and the police union agree to a new contract. The Houston Police Department hopes a new union contract that targets raises primarily to younger officers will ward off recruiting struggles that have forced it to offer bonuses to … Continue reading →

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Tax cuts >>> public education

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Well, what did you expect? Senate budget writers have enjoyed praise from conservatives for their focus on tax cuts, but they’re about to get an earful from educators who think their promises could cost Texas public school students. The starting … Continue reading →

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The odds never favor ethics reforms

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Better to keep your hopes down and not suffer too much disappointment. Gov. Greg Abbott pledged on the campaign trail to lead the charge to improve the state’s ethics laws, and now lawmakers and advocates pushing for reform are looking … Continue reading →

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Drug testing for being poor

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s back, and it’s as bad an idea as it ever was. For years, GOP lawmakers have tried to make drug testing mandatory for some Texans who receive state welfare benefits, with little success. But after making some headway in … Continue reading →

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2015 Mayoral manifesto: Public safety

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Preliminaries Transportation When I first started thinking about this series a couple of months ago, this section was all going to be about the budget. We’ve covered this ground before – public safety is about 65% of the total city … Continue reading →

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Abbott-style pre-k bill filed

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: State Representatives Eric Johnson (D-Dallas) and Marsha Farney (R-Georgetown) today filed a bill to provide incentive payments to school districts to provide full-day, quality pre-kindergarten. To receive the incentives, districts would be required to adopt best practices … Continue reading →

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2015 Mayoral manifesto: The preliminaries

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As you may have heard, we are electing a new Mayor this year. There’s already a large field of candidates in the race, and it is likely to grow before all is said and done. Each will have his own … Continue reading →

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The Senate’s opening budget

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Could be worse, I guess. Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson presented a $205.1 billion two-year base budget Tuesday morning, vowing to provide property tax cuts that Texans “actually feel” while keeping the state’s economy humming along. The Senate budget is … Continue reading →

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Minding Houston

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Want to know about mental health issues and how they are being addressed by the Legislature? Tune in to Minding Houston, the legislatively-focused blog of Mental Health America of Greater Houston. From their About page: Mental Health America of Greater … Continue reading →

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What will happen with pre-K this session?

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They say it’s a priority, though I would advise tempering one’s expectations. Currently, Texas funds a half day of preschool for 4-year-olds whose first language is not English, whose families have low incomes, whose parents are active duty military or … Continue reading →

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Tuition re-regulation on the menu

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There are different ways it could go. Tuition at Texas universities has more than doubled in the 12 years since state lawmakers authorized colleges to set their own rates. Now legislators are pushing to take back that control. It’s not … Continue reading →

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Expect to hear more about Perry vetos and no-bid contracts

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on. Democratic lawmakers and government watchdog groups on Saturday called for the reopening of an investigation into no-bid state contracts that ended in 2013 after Gov. Rick Perry vetoed funding for the team conducting it. The critics decried … Continue reading →

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Saving money by throwing away less

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good strategy all around. As a committee mulls an ambitious and controversial “one bin” project that could overhaul recycling and waste collection in Houston, the city’s traditional mode of getting rid of trash just got cheaper. A renegotiated contract with … Continue reading →

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Still no consensus on how to deal with the criminal justice complex

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And it’s back to the Mayor. Pushed by Mayor Annise Parker to decide whether Houston’s aging police and courts buildings should get patchwork repairs or be fully replaced, with both options carrying staggering price tags, City Council members instead opted … Continue reading →

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Say goodbye to some specialty license plates

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing lasts forever. Dr. Pepper, the National Wild Turkey Foundation and the Fort Worth Zoo are among 56 groups that will no longer grace the bumpers of Texas cars and trucks unless sales pick up. Under new rules set between … Continue reading →

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Aycock files school finance reform bill

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. A key House Republican said Texas lawmakers should not wait for the outcome of a sprawling school finance lawsuit to discuss changes to the state’s current public education funding system. “While we do not know the final outcome of … Continue reading →

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Hegar’s first revenue estimate is in

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it holds up. Amid concerns that tumbling oil prices could push the Texas economy into a recession, Comptroller Glenn Hegar offered a cautiously optimistic tone on the future of the Texas economy Monday, announcing that lawmakers will … Continue reading →

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Wake me up in June

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As we prepare for the 84th Legislative session to begin, let’s pause for a moment and see what we can expect. Greg Abbott wants to make the world safe for plastic bags. Dan Patrick wants to cut his property taxes, … Continue reading →

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Does any of this sound like “Medicaid Expansion” to you?

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So Wonkblog, TPM, and BOR, all riffing off the same news story in which Greg Abbott had a clandestine meeting with Houston-area legislators and may have said some things that made them think he might be open to “Medicaid expansion”, … Continue reading →

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Three signs of possible trouble ahead

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

#1 – Watch out for falling oil prices. The bedrock supporting Houston’s economy will shift in 2015, and while these tremors will not bring disaster, they will bring changes that some will find painful. The collapse of oil prices in … Continue reading →

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It pays to go green

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a simple enough formula – reduce energy usage, save money. As Houston leaders push the counter-intuitive notion that the world’s energy capital can go green, and pledge ever-lower emissions goals for municipal operations, installing energy-efficient lighting and low-flow toilets … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court approves body camera purchase

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously approved District Attorney Devon Anderson’s plan to spend $1.9 million in seized assets to equip Houston police officers and Harris County sheriff’s deputies with body cameras. County officials also said they would … Continue reading →

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Repair or replace?

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Consider this an object lesson in the cost of deferring maintenance. A new Houston police headquarters and courthouse complex, discussed for decades, could reach a key turning point this week as Mayor Annise Parker seeks to force City Council members … Continue reading →

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A better way to cut taxes

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Grits has a suggestion for the Legislature. Reduce local jail costs – which have been a big driver of tax increases in many Texas counties – by reducing penalty categories for low-level marijuana possession (currently a Class B misdemeanor for … Continue reading →

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The Lege is unlikely to do anything substantive on education this session

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, there will be lots of sound and fury, as well as various sideshow distractions, but in the end the main issue to resolve – school finance – will be at best “tweaked”. For anything more than that, we will … Continue reading →

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City deficit not as big as feared

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This is a nice surprise. A huge budget deficit looming at City Hall – which has spurred talk of layoffs, service cuts, new fees and higher taxes – has been cut in half, relieving some pressure to scramble together a … Continue reading →

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Some Republicans embrace tuition re-regulation

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This is a welcome change, but let’s not be distracted by what isn’t being said. Tuition and fees at the state’s public colleges and universities would be capped at their current levels and only be permitted to grow at the … Continue reading →

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Abbott puts on a moderate act

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He cares about education! During a Capitol news conference in which he announced the selection of his senior staff, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said Monday that education will be his top policy priority. Abbott said he wants to improve the educational … Continue reading →

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What’s the Lege going to do with the revenue?

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not as much as it should, of course, because the Lege never comes close to doing as much as it should. It’s a question of whether they’ll try to address some real problems, or just engage in an orgy of … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker wants body cameras for HPD

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston won’t wait for federal funding before buying body cameras for all of the city’s uniformed police officers, Mayor Annise Parker said Wednesday, as activists launched a petition drive for an ordinance essentially mandating the mayor’s plans. Both the … Continue reading →

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