Author Topic: Texas House Passes Bloated Budget, Votes to Raid Rainy Day Fund  (Read 790 times)

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Offline Sanguine

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April 7, 2017by Cary Cheshire

Category: Featured Articles, Under The Dome

After a fifteen-hour marathon debate, the Texas House passed a two year $218 billion budget that raids the Rainy Day Fund by a vote of 131–16.

The $218 billion budget includes $2.5 billion from the state’s savings account (roughly one quarter of the current balance) for ongoing expenses. The lawmakers who voted against the budget primarily did so because of that unnecessary spending provision.

In a statement released earlier this week by the Texas Freedom Caucus, a group of a dozen conservative lawmakers pledged to vote against any budget that raids the Rainy Day Fund.

“The proposed House budget calls for spending money from the ESF for typical budget expenses such as border security, teachers’ healthcare and student financial aid,” said the caucus members. “These are ordinary items that we can address with existing funds. They are not one-time expenses.  It is worth noting the Texas Senate passed a budget 31-0 without using any money from the Rainy Day Fund.  There is no revenue shortfall.”

“The Texas Freedom Caucus will be voting no on a budget that spends our state’s savings account without a compelling reason to do so,” the group’s statement concluded....

More:  https://empowertexans.com/features/texas-house-passes-bloated-budget-votes-raid-rainy-day-fund/