House begins work on next state budget

AUSTIN (AP) - As the House tackles a $178 billion budget, they voted to deplete Governor's allowance

As Governor Rick Perry makes national headlines for recent statements on Texas secession and state's rights, his colleagues in the Capitol display their grievance with the Governor by hitting him where it hurts: In the pocketbook.

In their midst of debating 500 amendments to the appropriations bill, House members passed an amendment that would take $23 million away from the Governor's budget and put it into state mental health services instead. That leaves the Governor with just $900 thousand to pay for travel expenses, staff and accommodation.

It is a political move that will not hold up under scrutiny when the House and Senate meet to negotiate the final budget.

"They are just playing silly games," said the Governor's communications director, Allison Castle.

This move comes a day after the Senate shut down Gov. Rick Perry's attempts to reject federal stimulus money by voting to accept unemployment funds.

The Budget Debate

Aside from the jabs, House members have a hefty task on their hands.

With billions of more dollars than they expected, they must now decide how to spend state and federal money in a way that will benefit Texas in the future.

"It's like one of those game shows, where money starts flying around in a phone booth and everyone is grasping at the air to get the money and put it in their pockets," said Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin.

When lawmakers came into the session, they were told they would have $4 billion less to work with in the budget.

"A money bomb exploded in the rotunda of the capitol thanks to a gift of the federal government in the form of stimulus money," said Mark Strama.

It is that stimulus money that has some conservative members of the House worried. Former Appropriations chair Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, said the giddiness over the stimulus money could lead to a major burden for Texas down the road.

"They're always putting it in there that we're not going to continue anything after the federal money runs out, but you know as well as I do that once you start a program that killing that mother is very difficult," said Chisum.

However, representatives are using the budget as a spring board to push some of their own agendas. Members have filed 500 amendments to the appropriations bill and while many of them are duplicates or will be considered germane to the bill, some lawmakers are banking on the budget to carry some of their pet projects.

"If we're not going to get them passed out of committee because committee chairman don't want to hold public hearings on them, we have to do other things ourselves," said Rep. Leo Berman, who filed several bills related to immigration.

One bill would prohibit Texas from giving birth certificates to children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants.

"I'm hoping we can pass this so we can be sued and the Attorney General’s office can take it all the way to the Supreme Court." Rep. Chisum filed an amendment that would strip funding to some abortion clinics.

"I am not for abortion and I am not for abortion clinics and this takes money away from them," he said.

The Final Compromise

The one constitutional obligation for the legislature is to pass the budget during the legislative session.

Once the House approves its version of the budget, which stands at $178 billion, lawmakers will then head to a conference committee to come to a compromise with the Senate's version of the budget, which stands at $182.2 billion. The conference committee is where some of the more controversial amendments are usually stripped from the budget, before it heads to the Governor's desk for approval.

Senate passed budget earlier this month

Earlier this month, the Senate voted 26-5  to adopt the two-year budget, the most important bill lawmakers will consider during the five-month legislative session.

It uses about $11 billion in federal stimulus money, which helped address a shortfall between available state revenue and spending needs.

The federal money also makes it possible for lawmakers to leave a projected $9 billion balance in the state's Rainy Day Fund.

Democratic critics of the budget expressed concern about measures in health and human services spending, including a provision that Ogden said was intended to prohibit state money from being spent on research that destroys human embryos.

The focus now turns to the House, which is working on a separate version of the budget.

The legislature has one duty it must, constitutionally, get done during the 140 days of the legislative session: Pass a budget for the state of Texas. As with every job left to politicians, this one is surrounded by its own cloud of controversy.

Overview of the Budget

Due to an increase in Federal funds, it is $12.5 billion more than the budget for 2008 to 2009. Because of that, even with fewer state dollars in the total funds, Texas lawmakers will be able to get by without making drastic cuts to programs during the economic crisis. The Senate's budget leaves about $9 billion in the Rainy Day Fund untouched.

"The most prudent thing we can do in our state right now is hold on to that Rainy Day Fund until we're sure things won't get worse until they get better," said Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan.

Federal revenue accounts for $10.8 billion per year of the proposed budget, while state revenue counts for $80.8 billion per year. That is slightly less than the $82.3 billion in state funds that was available in the 2008-09 biennium.

Breakdown of the Budget - Highlights:

* Public Safety - $10.6 billion ($.2 billion increase)
* Parks and Wildlife - $140.6 million ($6.4 million increase)
* TxDOT - Additional $2 billion from through bonds and additional $2.3 billion through Federal stimulus money
* Border Security - $112.8 million
* $600 million for cancer research and prevention from bond proceeds. This money is for the first two years of funding for the cancer research institute that was approved in 2007. Overall, the research will receive $3 billion over 10 years.
* CHIP - $2.3 billion ($283 million increase)
* State Schools - $543 million
* Public Education - $52.1 billion (decrease of .8 billion, but could increase due to federal funding)
* Higher Education - $22.6 billion (increase of $1.5 billion) and $882 million for financial aid
* Workforce Commission - $452 million from Federal stimulus funds and $30 million in state money for skills development fund

 The Associated Press contributed to this report.