September 18, 2007
House Success to date:
HB 1098 Overrides Governor's Executive Order for HPV Vaccine
Governor appoints conservator to the Texas Youth Commission at request of House and Senate members
Jessica's Law
Castle Doctrine
Governor Veto Over ride Session
House passes state budget*
House Failures to date:
No Apprasil Cap Reform - House is waiting on Senate Bill**
House & Senate vote to raise spending cap
All House bills to change formulas on spending are still stuck in committees***
Rep.
Gary Elkins
* State Budget vote was a vote for the house version of the state budget, this version of the budget will not be the final one so this vote was more of a proceedural vote to move the budget to conference committee where the house and senate can work out their differences. The next vote expected in late April or early May will be the real vote on the state budget
** Apprasil Caps - The house has taken up apprasil
caps for the past 2 sessions and passed the constitutional
amendment during one special session just to have
it die in the Senate. . The house leadership wants
the senate to take the vote on apprasil caps first
this session. If the senate does not take up and
pass an apprasil cap bill then there will be no
vote in the House.
*** There are several bills and proposed constitutional amendments filed that will clarify that refunding the taxpayers there overpayment of taxes is not spending. That was the essessence of the debate to bust the spending cap earlier this year. In order for the legislature to buy down the school tax rate from the current $1.37 per hundred dollar valuation to $1.00 per hundred dollar valuation cost $14 Billion dollars. This should not have been a cost driver since it was returning to the taxpayers what they had overpaid the state. In the real world a refund is not an expense. It is a reduction in top line revenue. It should be the same at the state .
