Posted on 05/22/2006 8:25:04 PM PDT by Peanut Gallery
AUSTIN -- Faced with the prospect of a court-ordered shutdown of public schools in a gubernatorial election year, lawmakers on Monday completed their task of overhauling the way Texas finances its education system.
On the 29th day of the 30-day special legislative session, the final pieces of the school finance puzzle were sent to the governor's desk, where they are expected to be signed into law. The Legislature adjourned for good around 5 p.m.
Gov. Rick Perry, who failed in five previous attempts to address the thorny issue of school finance, said success this time could be attributed to his decision to reach for help from people outside of the political arena. Perry appointed former rival John Sharp, a Democrat, to head the bipartisan panel that crafted what would become the framework of the legislation sent to his desk.
"They very publicly and transparently debated this issue and came up with a plan that's fair, that's equitable ... and they brought it to the Legislature," Perry said of his tax reform commission. "I think the Legislature very wisely listened. They were engaged in the process. They tweaked where tweaking needed to occur, and came up with some very, very good legislation."
Perry called the Legislature back to Austin after the Texas Supreme Court set a firm June 1 deadline for implementing a school finance plan that will pass constitutional muster. The court ruled that the current system makes use of a de facto statewide property tax, in violation of law.
The final bits of the Legislature's five-part school finance plan that got the green light on Monday were House Bill 5, which increases the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1, and House Bill 2, which devotes most money from new taxes approved this session to lowering school district property taxes.
The cigarette tax received final House approval by a vote of 77-68. House Bill 2 passed the chamber 89-56.
All Tarrant County Republicans except Arlington's Toby Goodman voted in support of House Bills 5 and 2.
Goodman joined Democrats Lon Burnam and Marc Veasey, both of Fort Worth, in opposing them.
Taken together, the five-part package will lower property taxes for school operations by about one-third over two years, while expanding taxes on businesses, tobacco and the private sales of used cars. Teachers will get a $2,000 annual pay raise, plus a chance for incentive pay. Money is also earmarked for dropout-prevention programs.
Political foes of Perry, who is running for re-election this fall, found fault with the package. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell's camp said more money should have been earmarked for educational initiatives.
"Leave it to Rick Perry to be proud of a school finance plan that underfunds schools and exacerbates the problems of high-stakes testing," said Tim McCann of the Bell campaign. "Perry's plan gives his favorite lobbyists over a billion dollars in loopholes while shackling schoolchildren to an endless cycle of crisis financing."
Mark Sanders, spokesman for independent candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn, said the plan is out of balance.
She urged Perry to use his veto pen.
"His tax increase will take $6 billion a year out of the economy, and it still won't be enough to pay for property tax cuts," Sanders said. "Even after the courts ordered him to do something, the plan he came up with will burn through the surplus, grow the size of state government and still leave voters with a broken promise."
Perry's campaign fired back, saying that only the governor had offered a specific blueprint for addressing the school funding crisis.
"There are those who carp, complain, obstruct and distort," said Robert Black, a Perry campaign spokesman. "And then there are those who offer ideas, weather criticism and work constructively with members of both parties to do what's best for Texas."
Credit for the passage of the package was also claimed by the leaders of both legislative chambers, who in all of the previous attempts to address school finance were unable to reach agreement.
"Part of it was the deadline ordered by the Supreme Court," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the Senate's president.
He also said his insistence on teacher pay increases and educational programs helped bring about the agreement.
House Speaker Tom Craddick said his decision to divide the package up into separate bills made it easier to round up votes. It also prevented any dispute over a single element in the plan from derailing it in its entirety, he said.
"I must say that my idea of splitting it into five bills was probably the best thing we ever did," Craddick said.
After the session's heavy lifting was completed, lawmakers' final hours in Austin were spent honoring departing House and Senate members, who either had decided not to seek re-election or lost their primary elections.
Among those honored were Republican Reps. Bob Griggs of North Richland Hills and Kent Grusendorf of Arlington. Griggs had decided to retire from the House; Grusendorf lost his bid for re-election.
"I have enjoyed serving with each and every one of you. This is a great institution and it will always be in my heart," Grusendorf said after a resolution was read in his honor.
Retiring Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, a Lampasas Republican and ranch owner, offered a more lighthearted farewell.
"When I'm cleaning my horses' stalls," she quipped, "I'll be thinking of you."
IN THE KNOW
Raising the money
During the special session that ended Monday, the Legislature adopted five bills related to school finance and taxes. The bills now await the governor's signature.
House Bill 1: Reduces property taxes for school operations by about one-third over two years. It also provides about $1.4 billion in new education spending, including money for a $2,000 across-the-board teacher pay raise, incentive payments for teachers at low-performing schools and drop-out prevention programs.
House Bill 2: Dedicates money from any new taxes adopted during the special session to the purpose of lowering school district property taxes.
House Bill 3: Revises the business franchise tax. Under the bill, most businesses would pay a 1 percent tax on gross receipts, minus the cost of their payroll or goods. For wholesalers and retailers, the tax would be 0.5 percent. It would bring hundreds of thousands of additional businesses onto the tax rolls and raise another $3.4 billion annually for the state. It is considered the largest expansion of business taxes in Texas history.
House Bill 4: Ties the sales tax collected on used cars to the car's blue-book value. It would raise another $43 million for the state.
House Bill 5: Increases the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1. It would raise about $680 million annually. R.A. Dyer, (512) 476-4294 rdyer@star-telegram.com John Moritz, (512) 476-4294 jmoritz@star-telegram.com
ping
So if I buy a car under blue book I will have to pay tax on make believe value. Tax on something that did not exist. HUH?????
there goes that buddy or relative selling it to you for a dollar to avoid taxes
How about a transmission or engine replacement priced in the sale. Not only will you pay the tax on nonexistent engine, a double tax on the actual engine replacement. Is this a Double tax or what.
You just need a state approved appraiser to verify various stages of the transaction. He(She) might want to triple charge you, government employees can do that you know... ;(
Are you serious? A new state job title created.
half serious, half joking, i don't see how they'd enforce it any other way though...
How about this twist....What if a 4x4 in North Texas in good demand sells for over blue book while a 4x4 in South Texas sells at blue book. The same vehicle could be taxed differently while still in the State of Texas.
Got my words mixed up. Instead of the true value the blue book will be used which is subjective.
huh, I just got an email (it's an election year afterall) from LT Gov Dewhurst (well, he "signed" it but it's really from the Republican National Committee and ecampaign@gop.com). Here is what he has to say about the bills.
The legislation passed will:
* Lower property taxes by 1/3 in 2008
* Dedicate future revenues to further buy down property tax rates
* Strengthen fiscal accountability in our schools, including budget transparency to better inform taxpayers on how schools spend their money
* Hold districts accountable for unacceptable performance
* Fund programs for teacher mentoring and principal leadership
* Improve graduation rates
* Promote college readiness in our schools
* Reward teachers for student achievement in high poverty school districts
* Increase teacher pay by $2,000
* Reform the business tax structure to make it fairer for all businesses through broadening the base and lowering the rate
* Make the largest investment to Texas higher education infrastructure in the state's history
He doesn't seem to see the ramifications of #4.
thanks for the info :)
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