| On the AP wire, the Comptroller's office is reporting that the state has a surplus of over $3 billion dollars. The Perry campaign is blaming Strayhorn for playing politics with the budget.
"Instead of working in good faith, Carole Strayhorn is playing political games by refusing to give lawmakers and the tax commission up-to-date budget information," said Perry campaign spokesman Robert Black. "It's obvious that Carole Strayhorn would rather feed her political ambition, be an obstacle to reform and use the school finance issue for her own political gain at the expense of Texas school children."
Strayhorn is blasting Perry for playing politics with the special session on education.
"It is Rick Perry who is playing politics with our children's education. If he truly cared about education, legislators would be in session today, not in two months," said campaign spokesman Mark Sanders.
Strayhorn's office said they're working on the required end-of-year settle up and that staffers were checking details thoroughly. Deputy Comptroller Billy Hamilton blamed special sessions that lasted into August for the delay. The state fiscal year ended Aug. 31.
"It's a priority but it's not the first priority because there's a lot of other things that go on with the year-end close of the books," Hamilton said. "There's some kind of implication that if it came out right now, we would be swimming in money, but that's not the case. The comptroller made an honest estimate, based on conditions as they existed last time she was called on to certify the appropriations act."
The surplus is easy to explain, first there is $1.2 billion, is leftover tax revenue from the last budget cycle. Next, $1.9 billion was stashed away by lawmakers to use in the upcoming school funding debate. Finally, the state also is sitting on $473 million in savings from vetoed legislation in the current budget that can be spent anytime by the budget board. |
