Tag Archives: deficit

Vote on school finance today

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On Friday night, the Lege finally reached an agreement on school finance, which is to say on how to distribute the $4 billion in cuts to public education to the school districts. Today the Lege gets to vote on that … Continue reading →

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Budget passes

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official. The Texas House and Senate passed a state budget Saturday that cuts billions from public schools, state universities and health care for the elderly. The $172 billion legislation now goes to Gov. Rick Perry for his signature. Facing … Continue reading →

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We have a budget

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Such as it is. Budget negotiators met briefly this morning and voted 9-1 to adopt a conference committee report that cuts the state budget over the next biennium by $15 billion, or 8 percent. The total amount of funding from … Continue reading →

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Sorry, yacht owners

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Your champion has failed you. Rep. John Davis, R- Houston, said he’s given up for this session on capping the sales tax for big yachts to try to compete with Florida’s more favorable tax laws. But Davis said he’s still … Continue reading →

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Still no school finance plan

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Tonight’s the night for something to happen if it’s going to, because legislatively speaking there is no tomorrow. The 2012-13 state budget agreed to by House and Senate negotiators provides school districts $4 billion less than what they are owed … Continue reading →

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It’s always been about controlling women

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Sadly, there’s nothing new about this. Senate Finance Committee Chair Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said Monday afternoon that budget negotiators will likely adopt a 2012-13 family planning budget that is “pretty close” to the House’s proposal — $37 million for low-income … Continue reading →

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Sugar Land prison to be closed

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Lawmakers trying to settle on the state’s budget for the next two years have agreed to shutter a 102-year-old state prison in Sugar Land. Under the proposal adopted this week by negotiators from both chambers of the Legislature, … Continue reading →

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School finance still to be done

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We may have a budget deal, but what we still don’t have is a school finance plan. The Senate’s long-stalled plan to apportion a $4 billion reduction in school aid had been suddenly resurrected, passed and zipped over to the … Continue reading →

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The city’s 2012 budget

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Cuts, deferred payments, and more cuts. Mayor Annise Parker, facing what she described as the toughest fiscal environment in more than 20 years, on Thursday proposed a $1.8 billion budget that calls for laying off 747 employees, closing pools and … Continue reading →

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Trauma centers feel the pinch, too

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Like everything else in the state, trauma centers at hospitals will see their funding get cut, and they are warning about the consequences. The officials from Memorial Hermann, Ben Taub and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston came … Continue reading →

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More on the budget deal

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Statesman: The agreement is hinged on the House passing a so-called fiscal matters bill, Senate Bill 1811, that would free up money to help pay for the $3 billion in additional spending to which the House negotiators agreed. … Continue reading →

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Budget deal reached

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One less reason for a special session. Assuming nothing else goes wrong, and Rick Perry doesn’t veto it out of whatever sense of grandeur and vanity drives him. House Speaker Joe Straus indicated legislative negotiators have reached an agreement on … Continue reading →

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Great moments in understatement

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Rob Eissler, the author of the repeatedly postponed HB400, the bill that distributes the $7.8 billion in public education cuts to individual school districts, says what may be my favorite thing this session: Lawmakers who philosophically endorse reduced … Continue reading →

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County hires jailers to save money

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Commissioners Court has finally admitted that having an adequate number of jailers is more cost-effective than paying for scads of overtime. Just as Sheriff Garcia has been saying all along. Sheriff Adrian Garcia’s payroll was a contentious issue … Continue reading →

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Is there still a chance gambling legislation can pass the Senate?

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

All signs still point to “no” if you ask me, but gambling legislation never goes quietly so it might look otherwise on the surface. The quiet formation of a special Texas Senate subcommittee to consider a controversial casino gambling resolution … Continue reading →

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Firefighters avoid layoffs

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The city and the firefighters’ union reach an agreement on the deadline for sending layoff notices to cut HFD’s budget by $17.7 million but not require any layoffs. The agreement’s components include program cuts and fees for services that are … Continue reading →

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House punts on budget bills till tomorrow

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

After getting off to a slow start, budget negotiators realized they were going nowhere fast and put a merciful end to things for the day. The House has punted to Thursday any floor consideration of the “non-tax revenue” bill and … Continue reading →

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Combs raises revenue estimate

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like Sen. Ogden and his fellow dreamers got their wish. Comptroller Susan Combs added $1.2 billion to her estimate of state revenues, making that much more money available to budget writers who are scrambling for cash. She said the … Continue reading →

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Senate passes supplemental appropriation with extra rainy day funds

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I hadn’t realized that the Senate hadn’t gotten around to passing a bill to close the deficit from the last biennium, since the House had done that a long time ago amid a huge debate about using Rainy … Continue reading →

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More city layoffs

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

How high will it get? More than 600 city employees have received layoff notices this month as the city sheds payroll in a budget crisis. The count is mounting daily as city leaders orchestrate a department-by-department approach to telling their … Continue reading →

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Nothing is dead, and nothing is certain

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The deadline for passing House bills on second reading was midnight Friday last week, which means that tons of bills are technically dead, as they can no longer be brought to the House floor for a vote. However, bills can … Continue reading →

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From the “Get your government out of my Medicare” files

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be fun. Across the nation, U.S. House Republicans are getting an earful from their constituents about a GOP budget proposal to overhaul Medicare, the federal health care program that insures the elderly. The Republican plan, written by … Continue reading →

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So what happens if there isn’t a school finance deal?

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall that having to change the school finance formula to distribute the billions of cuts to public education is causing problems with the budget. What happens if no changes are made to the formula? The Trib contemplates the … Continue reading →

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House class size bill fails to pass

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

HB400, the House bill that would among other things allow for larger class sizes and furloughs and pay cuts for teachers, failed to pass before the midnight deadline last night. The bill from Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, would have … Continue reading →

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The end of full day pre-K

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More ways in which the Lege is abdicating its responsibility to Texas. Although many experts say these full-day classes are beneficial to children, looming cuts to education funding have put many of these full-day pre-K programs on the chopping block … Continue reading →

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San Antonio’s budget situation

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Just for comparison. “Our 2011 numbers still are not where they were in 2008,” [San Antonio] City Manager Sheryl Sculley told the council during a briefing session Wednesday. The projected shortfall in the general fund in the next budget has … Continue reading →

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I’d really like to buy a yacht in Texas, if only your tax policies would let me

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure which is more awesome, the idea that we’re even having a debate about giving yacht owners a tax break or that they yacht owners who would benefit from this are telling us it’s for our own good. … Continue reading →

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More on the city’s convention center spinoff proposal

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This press release from the Mayor’s office about the proposed spinoff of the city’s convention business hit my inbox this afternoon: Mayor Annise Parker today recommended consolidation of the city’s Convention & Entertainment Facilities Department (CEFD) into the Houston Convention … Continue reading →

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Some gambling advances in the House

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s probably too little too late, but you never know. A Texas House committee surprised the casino lobby Friday night when it voted out legislation that would allow video lottery terminals — slot machines — at state racetracks and Indian … Continue reading →

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Spinning off the convention business

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The city is looking to get out of the convention and entertainment business and maybe make a few bucks in the process. The city’s Convention and Entertainment Facilities department currently runs the George R. Brown Convention Center and other city-owned … Continue reading →

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ParentPAC speaks about public ed funding cuts

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The two-year budget passed by the Texas House is destructive, reducing public school budgets by $7.8 billion over the biennium. The budget passed by the Senate is better, but it cuts about $4 billion and leaves school funding woefully … Continue reading →

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Subsidies for jobs

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s be clear about what this is, shall we? When Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst crisscrossed the state last year touting his program to provide state subsidies to anyone who would hire unemployed workers, Texas employers lined up. To the state’s … Continue reading →

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What do yachts and smokeless tobacco have in common?

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They’re both getting tax cuts from the Republican legislature. Members of the Texas House on Wednesday approved a bill to lower a tax on Red Man and other brands of loose-leaf chewing tobacco. When Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland , laid … Continue reading →

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The budget work is far from done

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Senate may have passed its budget via some creative interpretation of its rules, but there’s more to what has to happen now than just the conference committee. As Abby Rapoport notes, they still have to rewrite the formula for … Continue reading →

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