AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The first state budget under Republican Gov. Greg Abbott spends lavishly on border security, defunds one of Rick Perry’s signature initiatives and includes the biggest tax cuts in a decade. The House and Senate are expected to give final approval next week to the roughly $210 billion spending bill.
A new budget is the only thing the Legislature is constitutionally required to pass before adjourning June 1. Here’s a look at some of the highlights:
BORDER SECURITY: Perry spent nearly $1 billion over the previous decade putting armored gun boats, spy planes and even the National Guard on the Texas-Mexico border. But it took Abbott only five months to write a check for nearly that amount: More than $800 million is set for border security, which was a dominant issue for Republican candidates in 2014.
PUBLIC EDUCATION: Texas classrooms are getting roughly an extra $1.5 billion - that works out to about an extra $100 per student after a relatively quiet session on school funding after the issue dominated the Legislature in 2011 and 2013. But it could roar back to life soon enough. An ongoing lawsuit over how the state pays for education remains in the hands of the Texas Supreme Court, and a ruling later this year could force lawmakers back to Austin to design a new school-finance system.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Two years after passing some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country, Republicans are now removing Planned Parenthood from a state program that provides cancer screenings for low-income women. The decision severs funding for more than a dozen Planned Parenthood clinics that don’t provide abortions on-site. Planned Parenthood got about $1.2 million in taxpayer funds under the cancer screening program last year.
TAX CUTS: A $3.8 billion package of tax cuts for businesses and homeowners is less than what Abbott and other GOP lawmakers had bragged was possible this session. Homeowners would save roughly $120 a year on property taxes, though critics say those savings will be eaten up by rising appraisals.
ATTENDANTS FOR THE DISABLED: Disabled-rights activists blocked the doors to Abbott’s office this week in protest of wages for attendants who help the disabled with their day-to-day lives. Although Abbott, who has used a wheelchair since 1984 after an accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, encouraged advocates by calling for more funding it fell short of the $10 hourly wage they sought.
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SENATE DEBATING MAJOR OPEN CARRY HANDGUN BILL
Texas Republicans pushing to pass the two major firearms bills of the legislative session have stumbled amid efforts to restrict police powers over people carrying handguns.
Senate leaders called for a Friday vote on allowing licensed open carry of handguns. They also announced a deal with the House to allow concealed handguns in college classrooms.
But quick passage of the open carry bill unraveled under bipartisan attempts to ban police from demanding that people carrying guns show their permits to do so. Supporters say it prevents police from harassing law-abiding citizens and racial profiling of minorities.
Opponents, though, counter that police must be allowed to figure out who is legally carrying a handgun.
The debate comes less than a week after a biker shootout in Waco killed nine.
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HOUSE DELAYS VOTE ON CUTTING VETERAN EDUCATION BENEFITS
A Texas lawmaker has pushed back a vote on a much-watched bill that would make cuts to a free college tuition program for veterans’ children.
The bill - meant to address the program known as the Hazlewood Act’s rising costs -was briefly discussed Friday. But Republican Rep. John Zerwas postponed debate until Sunday, citing the measure’s “complexity and emotion.”
Before floor discussion even began, Democratic Rep. Joe Farias made an impassioned plea opposing Zerwas’ bill. The Vietnam veteran told colleagues, “Think twice, and open your heart to those that have endured the most.”
Already Senate-approved, the bill tightens veteran eligibility requirements, cuts the number of free tuition hours and stipulates that benefits expire.
The program’s cost to Texas public universities has climbed from $24.7 million in fiscal year 2010 to $169 million last fiscal year.
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ON DECK
Both the House and Senate convene Saturday morning for a joint session commemorating Memorial Day. Gov. Greg Abbott will give an address as officials honor Texas veterans killed over the past year.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“My understanding is your bill creates the official state crustacean for the state of Texas. Really?” - Rep. Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, to Dickinson Republican Rep. Wayne Faircloth. Faircloth’s resolution designated the Texas gulf shrimp as the state crustacean passed the House Friday.
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