Tag Archives: budget

Texas Lottery Commission dies and is reborn

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And we have our first curveball of the legislative session. The House voted Tuesday to defeat a must-pass bill reauthorizing the Texas Lottery Commission, a stunning move that casts doubt on the lottery as a whole and may potentially cost … Continue reading →

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That’ll just about do it for gambling this session

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Sen. Carona calls the chances “slim”, but it sounds like slim just left town to me. [Sen. John] Carona, chairman of the Senate’s Business and Commerce Committee, said last week he expected to vote his sweeping gambling bill out of … Continue reading →

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Grier asks for Apollo money

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It is his signature program. Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier on Thursday lobbied the school board for at least $17 million to expand his Apollo school reform effort, noting new research showing its benefits. Grier is facing resistance from some … Continue reading →

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Bad ideas never die

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And so we find ourselves once again talking about tax breaks for yacht buyers. From capping the sales tax on yachts to phasing out the state business levy, some lawmakers are pushing for tax breaks even as others say the … Continue reading →

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House discusses Medicaid expansion

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds like a sincere effort, though whether it can get anywhere is an open question. Amid hours of testimony from advocates in support of Medicaid expansion on Tuesday, state Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, described his proposal to create an alternative … Continue reading →

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Texas On The Brink 2013

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Quantifying what we long suspected to be true. Texas remains behind most other states on issues related to educational achievement, public health and the environment, according to the latest version of the “Texas on the Brink” study released Monday. The … Continue reading →

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Still arguing about road funding

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I still don’t quite get why the obvious solution is so blithely dismissed. With most of the work of developing a state budget behind them, lawmakers can now drill deeper into the state’s spending plan to find a way to … Continue reading →

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Senate to tap that Rainy Day Fund

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It is just sitting there, not doing any good if it’s unused. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, laid out an ambitious plan to spend $6 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund on Thursday morning while also … Continue reading →

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News flash: Ted Cruz is not KBH

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. For nearly two decades, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison delivered thousands of federal projects to Texas that added billions of dollars to the state’s economy. The leader of a bipartisan approach known as … Continue reading →

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It’s still OK to be gay at Texas A&M

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It was touch and go for awhile there. Here’s the Dallas Voice from Friday: Texas A&M Student Body President John L. Claybrook has vetoed an anti-gay bill passed by the Student Senate on Wednesday that would have allowed students to opt out … Continue reading →

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House debates its budget

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, yesterday was Budgetpalooza in the House. The House budget puts more money into public education and less into health and human services than a Senate proposal that passed the upper chamber last month. “No one is or … Continue reading →

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Williams’ “Medicaid” plan

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’m really not sure what to make of this. State Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, is crafting a Medicaid reform plan that would use premium tax revenue to subsidize private health plans for uninsured Texans, his office confirmed on Tuesday … Continue reading →

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The day pass is back

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From Metro: The METRO Board of Directors [Thursday] took the first step to bring back the “day pass.” The Board voted to commit $175,000 to adapt METRO’s Q Card system so a $3.00 extended “day pass” feature can be accommodated … Continue reading →

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Yes, Rick Perry still hates Medicaid

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We’re not surprised by this, right? The Texas rhetoric around a key facet of federal health reform — whether the state will expand subsidized insurance to its poorest adults — reached the high water mark on Monday, with back-to-back press … Continue reading →

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Feds bypass the state on Title X funds

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. The federal government announced [Monday] that it would no longer award a large slice of federal family-planning funds to the state of Texas. Instead, the feds will award the $6.5 million grant to the Women’s Health and Family … Continue reading →

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More details on the House budget

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Consider this to be written in pencil, because it’s going to change. More than $1.6 billion and disagreements on how much Texas should spend on public education and Medicaid separate the budgets proposed by the House and Senate. The Senate … Continue reading →

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Businesses say they want Medicaid expansion, too

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This really comes down to two things. Chambers of commerce representing companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) are challenging Texas Governor Rick Perry and lawmakers to expand health care for the poor in the state … Continue reading →

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House Appropriations releases its budget outline

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Better news for schools in this version. The House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously Thursday to boost funding for public schools by $2.5 billion in the next two-year budget period. Schools would get an additional $500 million in the current fiscal … Continue reading →

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Why do we give tax breaks to country clubs?

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, I’ve talked before about sunsetting tax expenditures. Sens. John Carona and Rodney Ellis have filed a bill to require a periodic review of the many exemptions, exceptions, and other special cases in the tax code, with the … Continue reading →

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Gambling interests narrow their focus

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is usually how it goes. Let Texans Decide, a pro-gambling organization that is fronted by former state Sen. John Montford, was aligned at the beginning of the 2013 legislative session with big casino interests in a call for full-scale … Continue reading →

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You can present that “Texas solution” any time now

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. John Zerwas takes to the op-ed pages to assure us that yes, the Republicans really truly do want to do something about the vast number of uninsured people in this state if only they are given the freedom … Continue reading →

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Senate passes its budget

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let the damning with faint praise for this jerry-rigged excuse for not adequately funding our needs yet not eviscerating them as badly as last time begin. The Texas Senate approved a $195.5 billion two-year budget Wednesday, with Democratic state Sens. … Continue reading →

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The Chronicle is very disappointed in you, Houston delegation

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are throwing a hissy fit to express their deep sense of disappointment. Just shy of 6,000 bills were filed in the Texas Legislature prior to last week’s deadline. Nearly half of those came in the usual blizzard of … Continue reading →

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County redistricting lawsuit costing a bundle

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Redistricting is expensive, y’all. Harris County has spent nearly $1.3 million fighting a 2011 lawsuit filed by a group of Hispanic activists against the redistricting plan it adopted that year for its four county commissioner precincts. The plaintiffs, led by … Continue reading →

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We have a budget

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It is what it is. The 15 members of the Senate Finance Committee unanimously voted on Wednesday for a $195.5 billion two-year budget that undoes some of the cuts from the 2011 legislative session. The budget, which now heads to … Continue reading →

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Houston’s health care cost problem

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is a problem for which there’s no easy solution. Hoping to contain rising health care costs, Mayor Annise Parker recently hiked premiums and cut benefits for employees, a move union leaders said overburdens workers and some City Council members … Continue reading →

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Nine hundred million reasons why expanding Medicaid is a good idea

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about the money. Expanding Medicaid could make available at least $900 million in state money that otherwise would be slated for health care as lawmakers work to pay for Texas’ priorities, according to an analysis released Tuesday. “More … Continue reading →

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TSTA polls about public education

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, via the TSTA: A strong majority of Texas voters support using some of the $12 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund to restore the $5.4 billion cut from the public education budget two years ago, and … Continue reading →

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Patrick files his own voucher bill

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I guess if you want something done right, you do it yourself. Ending speculation over when — or whether — his widely promoted school choice legislation would emerge, state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, has filed a bill creating a business … Continue reading →

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Treating rather than jailing the mentally ill

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Very good news. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and his medical staff wholeheartedly support a bill filed this week to reduce recidivism by the mentally ill who wind up in the county jail, a $5 million pilot program to transition … Continue reading →

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Straus wants someone to do something on Medicaid

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t we all, Joe. Don’t we all. Seeking to light a fire under fellow Republicans to provide health care to more uninsured Texans, House Speaker Joe Straus said Wednesday that it is time to “get our heads out of the … Continue reading →

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More on sunsetting tax expenditures

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I say again, this is a good idea that really needs to happen. The Texas tax code is rich with tax breaks. There are tax breaks for industries relocating to the state and for anyone with an Internet connection. Tax … Continue reading →

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I got those empty prison cell blues

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of excess prison capacity around the state, which is a big problem for a lot of communities that once thought building prisons, to be operated by private entities, would be a boon for them. Just over a … Continue reading →

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Here come the voucher bills

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer reports from the Senate, where two voucher bills were on display. In fact, the business-tax-credit-totally-not-vouchers bill had already been filed Monday, by McKinney Republican Ken Paxton. So ends the great mystery, begun in a little Catholic schoolroom last December, … Continue reading →

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