Gov: Texas prepared for budget woes

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Texas lawmakers will be more than ready to pass a balanced budget without a tax increase when the 82nd session starts in January, without additional budget estimates, Gov. Rick Perry told reporters at an event where he accepted the endorsement of the state firefighters association.

The process for drafting the upcoming biennial budget will go forward the same way it has for decades: with an updated revenue estimate and draft budget in January, Perry said. Perry’s challenger Bill White has said that Perry has ducked the issue of the state’s current fiscal situation, which could have lawmakers going into the next session with a deficit of at least $18 billion.

Forcing the comptroller to produce new budget estimates every time a lawmaker asks is not the best use of the Comptroller’s time, Perry said. Perry said he, as someone involved in state government appropriations for 25 years, including 10 years as governor, was well prepared to act.

“I think that everyone’s got a fairly good handle on that,” Perry said of the state’s fiscal picture. “We’re going to have to make some prioritizations of our budget, just like we did in 2003.”

Perry was pressed by one reporter about charges from his opponent he had downplayed the budget. The governor said people would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to recognize that the state was in a budget crisis, thanks to out-of-control federal spending.

“I’m not downplaying it. I’m not downplaying it at all,” Perry said. “I’ve been governor of Texas for 10 years.”

Challenger Bill White had pressed Perry earlier in the week for additional budget information, saying Perry, as the state’s chief executive, should be ready to answer questions. He promised monthly updates on the fiscal circumstances of the state, the same

"According to the Texas Constitution, the governor is the 'Chief Executive Officer of the State.' Rick Perry should tell the citizens about the state's revenue and expense projections over the next several years. If he doesn't know or isn't willing to tell us what he does know, then obviously we need a new governor," said Bill White in a news release earlier this week. "Any chief executive of a major public company would be removed by the board if he did not have estimates of revenues and expenses for each fiscal year."

After Perry's comments today, the White campaign sent out an additional statement, brushing aside Perry's comments frequent budget requests were somehow "bizarre."

"What's bizarre is refusing to provide basic facts in a time of fiscal crisis. Perry is thumbing his nose at Texans who are looking out for the future of our state," said Katy Bacon, campaign spokesperson for White. "Perry, according to the Texas Constitution, is supposed to be the chief executive officer of the state, yet he says he has 'no idea' the scale of the fiscal crisis the state faces. He essentially admitted that he's not doing his job."