« A Non-Change Change | Main | Some Things Just Don't Blow Over »
March 30, 2006
Treacherous Waters Ahead in Special Session
Yesterday, less than three weeks from beginning a special session of the Texas Legislature, Governor Rick Perry unveiled his new plan to finance public schools -- a 1% broad-based business tax, coupled with a $1 per pack cigarette tax, to be offset by a significant reduction in property taxes. Can you hear the crickets?
The plan, developed by the John Sharp-led Texas Tax Reform Commission, has been met with muted response so far, despite the Govnernor's new found enthusiasm for reform. Both House Speaker Tom Craddick and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, the other key players in the upcoming special session, have clearly staked out a "we'll see" position on the plan.
It is pretty clear that Craddick, despite recent comments to the press suggesting he has become more open to significant change, wants none of this. He took a political drubbing with the March 7th primaries, and may well lose a couple more allies in the April 11th runoff, so he is choosing his words carefully these days. But Craddick ultimately favors privatizing education, so any significant measures taken to improve the public school system run counter to his and a number of other Republican House members' core beliefs.
Dewhurst, on the other hand, has called for real education reform. Well, Perry's demonstrated aversion to doing anything difficult makes consideration of reform extremely unlikely in this session -- the Guv, as usual, wants to do the absolute minimum to escape with his political hide in November. That Perry chose John Sharp, the Guv's old Texas A&M roommate, who is also Dewhurst's former opponent and sworn enemy to run the commission reportedly really burns the Lite Guv up.
Democrats complain that Perry's plan does nothing to add badly needed new money to public education -- a position at least some Republican members privately share -- and are not enthusiastic about improving Rick Perry's political standing with Texans.
In short, the prospects for this plan passing in the Lege seem shaky at best. The fact that these emergency funding measures (to meet the Supreme Court's June 1st deadline) need a two-thirds majority -- that's 100 votes in the House -- makes this an even tougher hill to climb.
April 17th, the beginning of the special session, is fast approaching, and any kind of a deal seems a long way off. Stay tuned.
Posted by houtopia at March 30, 2006 10:23 AM