Texas Senate gets crack at House's bare-bones budget Texas House passes bare-bones budget

GOP bill that slashes funding for schools and nursing homes goes to Senate

Texas state representatives gather around House Parliamentarian Chris Griesel, at left leaning over the dais, during debate of the budget bill on Sunday. Texas state representatives gather around House Parliamentarian Chris Griesel, at left leaning over the dais, during debate of the budget bill on Sunday. Photo: Jay Janner, Austin American-Statesman Photo: Jay Janner, Austin American-Statesman Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Texas Senate gets crack at House's bare-bones budget 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

"This budget is the result of the worst recession that anybody in this room has ever experienced," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie. "I know this bill is not perfect. … This budget does fund the essential services of state government within our state revenue."

The $164.5 billion budget for the next two years - which would trim $23 billion from current state and federal spending - would have a disastrous effect on key services, said outnumbered Democrats, joined by some leading Republicans. Legislators voted along party lines, except for two Republicans who voted against it - David Simpson of Longview and Aaron Pena of Edinburg.

Republicans, whose House supermajority was built with a huge freshman class, contend that living within current revenues is fiscally prudent and what voters demanded last November. But some, including Pitts, also suggest that a search for non-tax revenue makes sense.

Democrats speak out

Democrats lined up Sunday night to speak against House Bill 1, acknowledging their inability to prevail in a chamber where Republicans hold a 101-49 supermajority.

"This is a choice," said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio. "Eighty thousand kids are not going to get their scholarships and grant money because of this bill. Forty-three thousand people are going to get kicked out of nursing homes or denied nursing home entrance because of this bill; 335,000 Texas jobs are going to go away because of this bill."

Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, likened the situation to entering a burning house and finding schoolchildren in one room and elderly people in another.

"I finally figured out that I couldn't save anybody in this fire," Dutton said, asking why lawmakers chose not to put out the fire by addressing the state's underlying fiscal problems.

Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, who voted "present," said, "This budget is not worthy of the Texas House of Representatives."

Rep. Patricia Harless, R-Spring, said her vote reflects a simple message to her constituents: "We balanced the budget with the revenue we had, and we didn't raise any new taxes or fees."

Still, she shared the concerns of her Democratic colleagues who savaged the budget because of its severe cuts to education, health care and human services.

"I have those exact same concerns, too," Harless said. "I'm sad that we're having to cut teachers. I am sad that the nursing homes are going to be closed and that seniors will be harmed in some way. But it's a tough economic time, and we have to spend the money we have, and if we don't have the money, we can't spend it."

Proposed spending is expected to grow in the Senate, which will now take up the measure. Senate budget-writers are working on a proposal that appears likely to contain $10 billion more in state-related revenue to soften the cuts. Differences between the chambers would be worked out in negotiations.

The state faces a shortfall estimated at $27 billion through the next two years when taking into account money needed to continue current services to a growing population. The House has voted to bridge about $4 billion of that gap with cuts this fiscal year and a $3.1 billion dip into the rainy day fund, which is all Gov. Rick Perry said he is willing to spend.

Castro cast blame on Perry, saying, "I don't think that we should be trapped by the ideology of one person with political ambition, trapped by the political ambition of one governor."

In an interview, Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, said, "Some of the cuts, especially in public education, are going to be devastating. … The governor has said he's not going to sign a budget that reaches into the rainy day fund any further. So at first glance, this is the type of budget that's going to have to come out of the House.

"I think that as soon as it does, we're all going to be just overcome with the phone calls that we're going to get from people in our districts to encourage us to take a closer look," he said.

Pitts promised his colleagues that he would work to improve key areas.

'False choices'

Democrats have said repeatedly that they've been forced to make "false choices" because of GOP revenue restrictions. They, along with some Republicans, say the cuts should be tempered with more spending from the rainy day fund, which is expected to contain about $9.4 billion, and moves such as eliminating some tax exemptions.

"We aren't really accomplishing anything except re-shuffling chairs on the Titanic," said Rep. Jessica Farrar of Houston, leader of the House Democratic Caucus.

She added that the burden would be shifted to local governments, which would be forced to turn to local taxes without the benefit of federal matching funds that the state gets when it spends money.

House Bill 1 would short public schools by nearly $8 billion of money they'd otherwise get under current funding formulas. An education staffer said it would be the first cut in the Foundation School Program since its 1949 enactment.

The proposal falls more than $4 billion short of covering Medicaid caseload growth. It would cut Medicaid reimbursement rates to nursing homes and other health care providers, raising the prospect of nursing home closures.

Geren predicted the final product will fall in between House and Senate proposals.

"It's easy to run the first time saying I'm not going to increase any fees or any taxes or whatever, until you've seen this first budget and see what it does to your local districts," Geren said. "And I think that they're all, new members and old members alike, having to really consider, is this what's best for Texas?"

Austin bureau reporter Gary Scharrer contributed to this report.

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