By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX –
Carrying the same language as the bill sent by House conferees to Senate conferees at the close of the 79th Regular Session, Rep. Kent Grusendorf (R-Arlington) today filed his school finance bill, HB 2.
"The bill I filed picks up exactly where we left off at the end of the regular session," said Grusendorf as members prepare for the 79th First Called Session today at noon.
Grusendorf called HB 2 the product of two years of meetings of the House Public Education Committee and two Select Committees on Public School Finance as well as three days of House floor debate and "extensive negotiations with Senate counterparts."
Those negotiations bogged down in the final days of the regular session and no bill was passed. Gov. Rick Perry last weekend issued a proclamation calling lawmakers back to Austin today for what most hope will be a shorter than the maximum 30-day session on school finance and reform issues.
According to the Public Education Committee Chair, HB2 will "drive greater efficiency and productivity, put new money into the public school system, increase teacher pay, shift a greater share of funding from local districts to the state, provide greater financial transparency to parents and taxpayers, and drop the hammer on low-performing schools."
Grusendorf said he expects the House to "vote quickly" to put the House and Senate back where they were when the regular session ended - with the school finance bill in conference committee. "We were very close to reaching an agreement with the Senate and I am confident that we will be able to reach consensus in this special session - to do anything less is totally unacceptable," he said.
Noting that he was "disappointed" no agreement was reached before the regular session ended, Grusendorf praised Perry for bringing lawmakers back to the table. "House and Senate leaders have worked many hours toward a compromise," said Grusendorf, "and I look forward to finishing the job we started during the regular session in a timely manner."
The Arlington Republican said he will call a meeting of the Public Education Committee as soon as possible to vote on the bill.