By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX –
To no one's surprise, Gov. Rick Perry today dangled the carrot in front of members of the Texas Legislature, vetoing more than $35 billion in education funding that will force the hand of lawmakers to decide the fate of public school finance/reform legislation. To facilitate that action, Perry is calling lawmakers back to Austin for the First Called Session of the 79th Legislature, slated to convene at noon on Tuesday, June 21.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst expressed disappointment in the Perry veto of TEA funds in what Dewhurst called a "conservative and compassionate" budget.
The lieutenant governor pledged to work with legislators, Perry and House Speaker Tom Craddick "to develop a comprehensive school reform plan that improves the quality of education for our children and lowers local school property taxes."
By law, a special session can last a maximum of 30 days, but insiders agree that if the called session only addresses school finance and public school reform, it could be finished in two weeks or less.
Saying it is time for legislators to "get education funding right," Perry said at a press conference today that his rationale for vetoing the funding from the Texas Education Agency appropriation was that he would not approve a budget that "shortchanges teacher salary increases, textbooks, education technology, and education reforms."
HBs 2 and 3 both died at the close of the 79th Regular Session as House and Senate conference committee members were unable to forge an agreement. Tempers flared as the sun set on the session without a solution to the state's never-ending school finance problems. The current system of public school finance has been declared unconstitutional by a state district judge, and is set for appeal before the Texas Supreme Court in early July. Both sides have said "close, but no cigar" relative to their negotiations.
Perry, facing a possible challenge for the Governor's Mansion keys from fellow Republican and State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, would like nothing better than to fuel his re-election campaign with a victory in the school finance dilemma. The only way to facilitate that is to bring lawmakers back to Austin.
Saying the school finance issue has been "studied and debated long enough," Perry added, "Now is the time to act."
The governor noted that some $2 billion in funds that would have been appropriated had HB 2 passed, is now sitting idle when it could have been used for teacher pay raises and other public school reforms. Those funds must be appropriated during a special session to be available for schools.
The governor noted that some $2 billion in funds that would have been appropriated had HB 2 passed is now sitting idle when it could have been used for teacher pay raises and other education needs. He described his veto of the education appropriation as "necessary to ensure we fully fund our schools, provide needed reforms in the classroom and pass real and sustainable property tax relief."
The governor said there is plenty of time for lawmakers to decide the fate of a school reform and school finance bill to meet deadlines so that schools can open in August. Action by lawmakers will mean "better funding, better teacher pay" and significant reforms that "will ensure more children are challenged to achieve in the classroom."
In addition to the TEA funding veto, Perry also used his line-item veto authority to cancel $1.7 billion in other appropriations for the 2006-07 biennium budget. He said some of those funds could be redirected to education funding and property tax relief.
In making his cuts, Perry said the budget bill allows "too much discretion" in the use of public monies.
Among the other line item veto items are the following:
- More than $314,000 for computer technology at the Texas Commission on the Arts
- $6.9 million for Trusteed Programs in the Governor's Office, deleting the Governor's Emergency and Deficiency Grants, most of which were transferred to another agency
- $440 million for the Federal Medicare Give-Back. These are savings that the State of Texas has accrued through efficiencies in operating the "dual eligibles program" for persons who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare services. Perry said his veto action will not jeopardize the drug prescription benefits of Texas.
- $486,556 for the Office of Attorney General's program to repay loans of law school students who go to work for the OAG. The veto is intended to lower law school tuitions for all Texas students because the loan repayment program is funded through a 1 percent surcharge on law school tuition.
- $19.8 million for Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to contract for bed space in county jails in fiscal year 2006. TDCJ received $15.9 million in emergency appropriations in HB 10, but will not spend all of this funding in 2005. In addition, the appropriation for this purpose in FY 2007 is more than twice the appropriation for 2006. Perry said the projected need for contracted beds, combined with the lapsed funding over the next biennium does not support this increase.
- $7 million for the Texas Military Facilities Commission, eliminating all funding for the agency and transferring its duties and functions to another entity. The veto is intended to give the Texas National Guard a more direct way to maintain personnel readiness through facilities management.
- $8.8 million for administrative services at the Texas Workers Compensation Commission. The functions of the Workers' Compensation Commission were transferred to a division within the Texas Department of Insurance, which Perry said could result in significant savings, particularly in the administration of the agency.
- $1.2 billion to various agencies and programs. These funds were contingent upon passage of legislation that failed. This includes the governor's line item veto of $890 million in contingency funds for the quality assurance fee on nursing homes.