Tag Archives: budget

It’s all about 2014

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is very easy to understand. Signaling austerity despite improving state revenues and a push by some to undo cuts to key programs, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and leading GOP senators said they plan to write a budget for the … Continue reading →

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On peeing in a cup

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another solution in search of a problem from the Republican leadership. Out of the more than 250 bills filed Monday, the first possible day to file legislation for the 83rd session, one measure — concerning drug testing for welfare applicants … Continue reading →

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TAB does not intend to release its hostage

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And why should they, if it’s a viable strategy? Representatives from the Texas Coalition for a Competitive Workforce, which includes major business groups and local chambers of commerce, said at a news conference that the assessment and accountability system known … Continue reading →

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Perryman for expanding Medicaid

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Economist Ray Perryman makes the straightforward economic case for expanding Medicaid in Texas. According to our analysis, every $1 spent by the State of Texas to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act returns $1.29 in dynamic State government … Continue reading →

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Eight billion dollars

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That’s how much is needed per year to make public education whole. Lynn Moak told state District Judge John Dietz that it will take more than $8 billion a year in additional money to get students on target to graduate … Continue reading →

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Patrick teases his school choice proposals

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

He doesn’t want to call it “vouchers”, but if it walks like a duck… “If there’s one message that I want to send, it’s that I want to champion public education,” said Patrick, the new chairman of the Senate Public … Continue reading →

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The opening argument against vouchers

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been hearing about vouchers since Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst named Sen. Dan Patrick to be Chair of the Senate Education Committee, but we haven’t heard – or at least, I haven’t seen – a lot of information about what … Continue reading →

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Cuts are not increases, no matter how you spin it

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is the Chron overview of HD134, which is once again the highest profile legislative race in the county, in part because it’s a referendum on the 2010 election and the cuts to public education funding that resulted from that … Continue reading →

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Children continue to be our future

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The mother of all school finance lawsuits, which commenced on Monday, will take many weeks to conclude. I don’t expect to follow it every day since there’s just so much else going on, but I wanted to point out a … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: For Ann Johnson

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I noted on Monday that the Chron listed Ann Johnson as one of its endorsed candidates. Yesterday they wrote the endorsement editorial to go along with that. The tea party turnout of 2010 gave Republican candidate Sarah Davis the narrow … Continue reading →

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School finance lawsuit starts today

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, the latest school finance lawsuit, which Judge John Dietz has called “the granddaddy of them all”, begins today in Travis County. The Statesman takes a look at the history of school finance and associated litigation, and how … Continue reading →

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Margins tax survives another challenge

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Mighty quick ruling from the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of Texas on Friday struck down a challenge by Nestle Inc. and two other businesses targeting the state’s franchise tax. Lawyers for Nestle and two Texas-based companies, Switchplace LLC and … Continue reading →

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The Lege is going to have to spend some money

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Whether they want to or not, there are a lot of issues that will be demanding attention and money from the Legislature when they convene in January. For example, there’s water. House Speaker Joe Straus said Friday the state’s water … Continue reading →

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Strip clubs sue city over $5 fee

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the $5 per customer strip club fee that was added as a budget amendment by CM Ellen Cohen as a way to fund clearing HPD’s backlog of rape kits? The clubs threatened to sue the city at the time … Continue reading →

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No Planned Parenthood, no women’s health care

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a simple enough concept. Women’s access to affordable health care will be reduced if the state follows through with its plan to eschew federal funding for the Women’s Health Program and create a state program instead, according to a … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: E-N for Sadler, Parent PAC for Ann Johnson

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Having made a good choice for the State Senate, the Express News follows it up with a good choice for US Senate. Former state Rep. Paul Sadler is unequivocally the right choice on the Nov. 6 ballot to represent Texas … Continue reading →

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A question of how many

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, Democrats will pick up seats in the Lege this election. The question is how many seats. Texas political experts expect Democrats will gain at least seven House seats. “If the Democrats don’t get to 55 seats or more, the … Continue reading →

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Psych hospital privatization rejected

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Department of State Health Services has rejected a bid by Geo Care to privatize Kerrville State Hospital. Last year, legislators told State Health Services it had to solicit proposals from mental health providers that wanted to run one … Continue reading →

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We got those bad road blues

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So many bad roads, so little funding to maintain them. Issues including traffic congestion, damage to vehicles from roads needing repair and costs incurred in accidents caused by insufficient safety features on roadways cost drivers in Texas $23 billion annually, … Continue reading →

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Health care access continues to shrink in Texas

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Who needs family planning services? I mean, every kid is born to people who want and can care for them, am I right? About 15 percent of Houston-area clinics that received state funding for family planning services closed their doors … Continue reading →

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What kind of debt is it?

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Comptroller Susan Combs is real worried about city and county debt, y’all. Local governments are loading down Texas taxpayers with debt without providing them enough information about the amount already owed for roads, schools and other public projects, State Comptroller … Continue reading →

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It’s usually a bad idea to bet on any kind of overhaul in the Lege

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I agree that it’s a sucker’s bet to think that the Lege will try to fix Texas’ tax code in any meaningful way. Nobody likes having to take votes that may later be used as clubs against them in a … Continue reading →

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Will voters understand the Metro referendum?

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the question that people on both sides of the issue are asking themselves. “You have some people who will read it and maybe they don’t like Metro and so they’re going to vote against it, without realizing that by … Continue reading →

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Once more with the margins tax and the Supreme Court

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. The Texas Supreme Court could blow a hole in the state’s budget if it finds the business tax unconstitutional, as pressed Tuesday in a lawsuit led by food giant Nestlé USA. “The Legislature can’t violate the … Continue reading →

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Why are we paying for a privatized psych hospital?

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Makes no sense to me. The Department of State Health Services has spent more than $2 million on bond interest for a psychiatric hospital that it doesn’t own and that was championed by Senate Finance Chairman Tommy Williams. But that’s … Continue reading →

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Texas’ public pension funds are solvent through 2075

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There was a hearing in the Lege this week about the state’s pension plans, and the good news is that they’re in pretty good shape. The better news is that the members of the Lege’s pension committee recognize that fact. … Continue reading →

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Counties are skirting the state on gambling, too

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

When eight-liners are outlawed, cities and counties will tend to look the other way rather than try to deal with enforcing the laws against them. Some of the money has arrived at the Duval County building in five-figure money orders … Continue reading →

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Roundabouts in the sky

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Imagine driving into downtown Houston on interstates 10 or 45, or U.S. 59, and having to merge with all other incoming traffic onto an elevated, one-way traffic circle around the cluster of … Continue reading →

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On tickets and plea bargains

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting story about the municipal courts, but I’m a bit puzzled by the numbers cited. About 22,000 traffic tickets were dismissed in a single month in Houston this summer – nearly half the number issued during that span, according to … Continue reading →

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On locking up prostitutes

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It doesn’t make much sense. Busted 32 times in 17 years for prostitution in Austin and other places, Beatryce Hall’s rap sheet reads like a frequent-flier ticket for Texas prisons: 11 times in 11 years. Many of those trips were … Continue reading →

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Cutting spending is always good for job creation

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It must be true. A study by the University of Texas at San Antonio estimated that 20 counties in the Eagle Ford Shale supported 47,097 full-time jobs in 2011, a number that’s expected to grow to 116,972 full-time jobs by … Continue reading →

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Margins tax back before Supreme Court

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another challenge to that unloved tax. The Texas Supreme Court [Friday] accepted a case that will decide whether the state improperly administers its business tax. Nestle USA argues that the tax violates the Texas Constitution’s requirement that taxes be … Continue reading →

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On comparing school districts

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Easier said than done. The way the state distributes money to school districts, and how much, will be center stage when a trial begins this fall involving more than half of the state’s districts serving the majority of its students, … Continue reading →

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City says No to some of CM Brown’s expense reports

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s always something. Councilwoman Helena Brown hired a private attorney to sit in on meetings with her publicly paid attorney, then tried to bill taxpayers for it. Records obtained by the Houston Chronicle reveal that Brown sought reimbursement for $850 … Continue reading →

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