Liveblog: Make-or-Break Day for the Texas State Budget

by Ross Ramsey, Emily Ramshaw, Morgan Smith and Jay Root
May 29, 2011
9 Comments

Scroll to the bottom for the latest updates.

The 2012-13 budget has been approved by both the House and the Senate and with less than two days left in the legislative session, lawmakers set out to pay for it by passing one more piece of legislation that raises $3.5 billion in "non-tax revenue" and revises school finance law to allow the state to reduce aid to public schools by $4 billion.

Without that legislation — SB 1811 — the budget doesn't balance and lawmakers will be forced to come back in a special session to deal with the issue. In ...

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Comments (9)

May 29, 2011 @ 2:02 p.m.

Bob Brown via Texas Tribune on Facebook

I keep hearing $3.5 Billion in non-tax revenue, where is that coming from and what is the difference in a fee and a tax?
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May 29, 2011 @ 2:15 p.m.

LuAnn Ferguson via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Since they put making points higher on their priorities lists than doing their jobs, their expenses and salaries shouldn't be covered for the inevitable special session. Oh, yeah, save money on the backs of the have-nots has more appeal to them--silly me.
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May 29, 2011 @ 3:08 p.m.

Phillip Sanders via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Look at the runs. 6% is going to cause a ton of teacher layoffs. When a school district loses millions of dollars then you are looking at 100s of positions being cut. The same for small school districts that have a smaller operating expense. When they lose $400,000 then that is a 1/4 of their staff. This is ridiculous!!! This legislature has no clue on school finance.
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May 29, 2011 @ 8:34 p.m.

Becky Johnson McGinnis via Texas Tribune on Facebook

NOT like!!!
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May 29, 2011 @ 10:09 p.m.

Mike Openshaw via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Phillip: OR they could take the same approach as many businesses have (including my own). 5% reductions in pay to save 5% of the jobs. But that is heresy in the public sector, isn't it?
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May 29, 2011 @ 11:46 p.m.

Stuart Greenfield

Yesterday's blog on the budget used, what I consider to be a more rational chronology, you start w/ the beginning at the top and then scroll down as things progress. I assume that didn't make sense to others so your reverted back to scrolling to the bottom to begin the blog and having readers to scroll up. Maybe the SBOE should adopt this model, we can start w/ the $4 bil cut in public ed appropriations and scroll down/back to Spindletop, independence, and the Alamo.
May 29, 2011 @ 11:49 p.m.

Ross Ramsey

It's last in, first out while it's live, and then it becomes sequential when we're done. Just wait!
May 30, 2011 @ midnight

Stuart Greenfield

Ross,
thanks for the explanation. While the session will end, history will continue, so the SBOE could still redo the chronology of history texts. I'm greatly relieved. :-)
May 30, 2011 @ 12:46 a.m.

Rosalie Weisfeld via Texas Tribune on Facebook

Thanks, i watched.
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