As the 80th Texas Legislature convened, Comptroller Susan Combs announced that legislators would have $14.3 billion in new revenue to spend over the biennium. She warned that slowing in the housing market, oil and gas revenues, and consumer spending suggest that the surplus might be a one-time boon and that lawmakers should be careful not to spend it all.

Then on Thursday, the Legislative Budget Board reported that paying for promised property tax cuts passed during the last special session would put the state over its constitutional spending cap by about $4 billion, which could require a 20-percent cut in current state agency spending. Instead of the cut, the Legislature could pass a constitutional amendment to remove tax cuts from consideration under the cap or they could pass an emergency resolution to break the cap.

“Our position is that the state should reinvest in Medicaid, CHIP and other health care safety net programs, which have suffered severe cuts during the last two sessions,” said Tom Banning, TAFP’s deputy executive director. “However the political reality suggests that the chance for a full restoration of those funds may be slimmer than we’d hoped.”

If lawmakers are able to identify new revenue given the most recent curve ball from the LBB, health services will be competing with higher education, transportation, prisons and teacher pay raises for a share of any new spending.

High Drama in the House

On a day usually set aside for pomp and ceremony, state representatives engaged in a tense battle on the House floor as Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, tried to unseat sitting Speaker Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland. The high-stakes gamble fizzled when Pitts withdrew from the race following the failure of an amendment that would have postponed the publication of each representative’s choice for Speaker until after committee assignments and chairmanships had been made.

Before the political sparks flew, the 80th Legislature was sworn in, including a host of freshman lawmakers eager to begin their work. TAFP President Doug Curran, M.D., of Athens was on hand to serve as the Capitol’s Physician of the Day. If you would like to serve as Physician of the Day or if you’d like more information on the program, please contact Kate McCann at kmccann@tafp.org or (512) 329-8666 ext. 16. There are still several days available on the legislative calendar and TAFP is always looking for volunteers to participate in this long-standing tradition.