Perry Calls Special Session on Education
By Andrew Dobbs
The day has finally arrived when the battle royale that I believe threatens to bring Rick Perry down begins. Today, Perry called a 30-day special legislative session on public school finance reform to begin next week, on April 20. From the San Antonio Express-News(free registration required):
Gov. Rick Perry today called a 30-day special legislative session on education, starting next Tuesday, saying he has the consensus needed to summon members to overhaul the nearly $30 billion a year system that funds public schools.
Perry said Texans want to end the "divisive" Robin Hood "school financing scheme" created by lawmakers in 1993 in response to court demands for an equitable funding approach. This year, the mechanism required more than 100 wealthy districts to give more than $1 billion in local tax proceeds to benefit more than 900 others.
Perry called on legislators to fashion a "permanent" replacement that cuts local school property taxes while adding $500 million a year in financial rewards for teachers and schools that excel.
"The time for pondering is over," Perry said. "It's time for action."
Perry's plan is disliked by Dewhurst in the Senate, Strayhorn in the Comptroller's Office, Craddick in the House and Democrats everywhere. This will be a 30 day slugfest that will involve desperate battles in both houses over their respective versions of the bill and then battles over the final version which probably won't actually do anything for education. All of the GOP proposed plans stink, with Dewhurst's being the lesser of several evils but still short of the sort of permanent solution (*cough* income tax *cough*) that we need right now.
Check out Texas Tax Relief to see how much your family would save under a state income tax and compare that to the silly $1 extra on cigarettes, $5 on strip clubs, video poker machines and "closing loopholes." We've been trying to put lipstick on this pig for far too long, its time to get serious about this problem but we know that is a long way off with Rick Perry, Tom Craddick and David Dewhurst calling the shots.
Posted by Andrew Dobbs at April 13, 2004 04:02 PM
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I meant to comment on the idea of a state income tax before--thanks for giving me another chance.
There are several good reasons for a truly progressive state income tax, but trying to claim that it will lower Texans' overall taxes just gives the GOP the ammunition they need to see that it never happens. As has been pointed out before, it will raise taxes on the 40% of Texans who do not own real property. You tell me to check out how much I would save under a state income tax--the answer, since I rent, is literally less than zero. And I am not naive enough to believe that my landlord will be beneficent enough to pass his savings on to me (and would good would a tax break be to him if he did?)
If proponents of a state income tax continue to use this argument, Republicans will be able to correctly argue that it will raise taxes on the poorest Texans while giving a break to those fortunate enough to own their homes, and a huge break to those wealthy enough to own multiple rental properties.
