Senate Speeding Through Special Session
Nearly a week into the Texas Legislature's special session, committees in the Texas Senate have cleared a number of bills for votes by the full body. The Senate got the necessary sunset legislation out of the way early and committees met over the weekend to hear testimony and move the bills. There have been battles over local control -- and a "bathroom bill" -- but all have made it to the Senate floor.
A proposal to increase teacher pay is stalled in committee as members try to prevent making it an unfunded mandate from the state. But a bill that would eliminate payroll deduction of union dues for educators and other government employees -- but not emergency services personnel -- passed.
The House, meanwhile, is moving at a much slower pace, with committee hearings scheduled this week. Rep. Dan Huberty has refiled his House Bill 21, which tweaks public school funding formulas and injects new money into the system.
Texas Tribune
Analysis: In special session, Texas Senate's the hare, House is the tortoise
Houston Chronicle
Senate cues up bills for swift passage
House Approves School Finance Bill
The Texas House on Wednesday, April 19, gave overwhelming approval to House Bill 21, filed by Public Education Committee Chair Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Humble) and which begins an overhaul of the state's school finance system. Among other things, the bill injects an additional $1.8 billion in funding for public education as it increases the basic allotment for public school districts. The bill must now go to the Senate, whose budget supplanted $1.8 billion in state funding for public education with local property taxes. Stay tuned ...
(Houston Chronicle)
House Takes A Stand On Vouchers
While it took more than 15 hours Thursday for the House to hear hundreds of amendments then pass a $218 billion budget for the next biennium, it only took a couple of hours for one of the more intriguing questions of the 85th Legislature to be settled -- are vouchers dead on arrival in the House? It would appear so as an anti-voucher amendment passed by a large margin, 103-44. A major priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Senate last week passed a watered-down version of Senate Bill 3, which has yet to be heard in the House. But the margin by which the anti-voucher amendment passed seems to be a signal that House has no stomach for vouchers.
The House's $218 billion total is the same as the Senate's $218 billion budget, but the House would use $2.5 billion from the Rainy Day fund while the Senate's version uses an accounting trick to push $2.5 billion into the next biennium. The House injects $1.6 billion more into public education. The Senate version openly uses $1.8 billion in local property taxes to help fund public education. Differences will be hammered out in a conference committee.
As expected, activity has indeed increased with the Texas Legislature as the halfway point of the session has been passed. The Senate passed, Senate Bill 3, a substitute version of its school choice bill, which now heads to the House, where leaders have shown little interest the bill.
On the House side, the Public Education Committee passed House Bill 22, which attempts to make the A-F accountability system more palatable for educators. Educators would rather A-F go away, but in testimony grudgingly said that the new bill is better than the old one. The measure now goes to the full House.
The House is preparing for a marathon budget session on Thursday, hearing any number of amendments that have been attached.
It's been a busy week so far at the Capitol. The Senate unanimously passed its $218 billion budget, which relies on $1.8 in local property tax revenue to help fund public education. Sen. Jane Nelson, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, touted the Senate budget's focus on education. Meanwhile, the House Public Education Committee approved Chair Rep. Dan Huberty's school finance measure, which puts an extra $1.6 billion into public education. Stay tuned ...
Texas Senate approves its budget, shifting school costs to local taxpayers (Texas Tribune)
House committee approves $1.6 billion school finance measure (Texas Tribune)
Capitol Activity Picks Up As Committees Hear Bills
It's near the halfway mark of the 85th Texas Legislature -- 70 days down and 70 more to go in the 140-day session that kicked off on Jan. 10. More than 8,000 bills have been filed, and hearings on some of those bills have begun in earnest.
The Senate Education Committee on Tuesday heard testimony on Senate Bill 3, which would establish Education Savings Accounts -- vouchers -- for certain Texas students. Advocates and opponents showed up with studies and numbers bolstering their position.
Read more here: School choice bill proponents, foes debate what's best for families
Meanwhile, the House Public Education Committee heard testimony on House Bill 22, which proposes changes in the state's A-F school and district accountability system and would postpone full implementation until August 2019, rather than August 2018. Superintendents and public education advocates generally like the bill although they dislike the A-F system. HB 22 at least attempts to correct the system, they said.
Read more here: School leaders welcome proposed changes to A-F system
Funding for high-quality full-day preK has long been a priority for SBISD, and for Gov. Greg Abbott. But Abbott is finding few allies in the Legislature when it comes to increasing funding for preK.
Read more here: Analysis: Can Abbott assemble an army for this session’s pre-K fight?
School Finance Bill Would Benefit SBISD
A bill filed Monday by State Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Humble), chair of the House Public Education Committee, makes some adjustments to recapture and increases the basic per-student allotment by about $200, moves that would benefit SBISD. Initial projections indicate some $6 million in additional state aid would come to SBISD under House Bill 21, as it stands now. Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri is cautiously optimistic but told Trustees Monday evening that there's nearly three months left in the legislative session and that much can happen between now and the session's end on May 29. The Senate has a working group looking at school finance but no bill has been filed in that chamber, where much attention is centered around vouchers and the so-called bathroom bill.
Read more about HB21:
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