Texas Legislature Passes Budget, Bonds, Road Funds

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DALLAS - The Texas Legislature closed its 84th session May 31 with a $209.4 billion budget, $3.1 billion of new bond authority for Texas higher education construction, a nearly $3 billion increase in highway funding, and about $4 billion of tax cuts.

Border security funding was doubled, up to $840 million to pay for more manpower and technology to police the Rio Grande.

"That investment, a significant increase over the current budget, will allow for the hiring of 250 new Department of Public Safety troopers and allow a 50-hour work week for all troopers," said House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio.

Some Democrats say the spending on border enforcement is mostly a political move, with the Texas Department of Public Safety claiming credit for enforcement actions by the federal border patrol.

In a long House debate, several Democrats from the border region complained that the budget nearly doubles current spending on border security with no accountability measures while providing minimal funding increases to public schools and health care, issues they consider critical in the region.

Voters statewide will have the last word on a $3 billion increase in highway funding under Senate Joint Resolution 5. The proposed constitutional amendment would dedicate a portion of general sales tax revenue to the State Highway Fund. In a compromise with the Senate, the House also approved use of a portion of the sales tax revenue from the sale of vehicles beginning in 2020.

"SJR 5 will go a long way toward alleviating the continued shortfall in state highway funding," said state Rep. Ron Simmons, who served on the conference committee that worked out differences in the two versions of the bill. "SJR 5 also specifies that the additional funds may not be used for toll roads."

Opponents of toll roads in the state were disappointed that most of the measures restricting funding for turnpikes died in the session's last days. Only four of 78 anti-toll bills passed, according to Terri Hall, founder of Texans United for Reform and Freedom.

Among the measures that did pass, House Bill 2612 requires the Texas Department of Transportation to issue a report on the possible elimination of some toll roads but does not apply to those operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority in the Dallas-Fort Worth area or the Harris County Toll Road Authority in the Houston area.

"Their bill would only require a plan to eliminate some tolls and does nothing to prevent the current tsunami of planned toll roads across Texas," Hall said.

House Bill 1, the state budget measure, won easy passage after differences with the Senate version were resolved in conference committee.

The $209 billion budget represents growth of 3.6% in all funds, or less than 2% per year, and it stays beneath the spending limit in the Texas Constitution.

"Our commitment to fiscal discipline remains intact," Straus said.

The budget increases funding for public schools by $1.5 billion. The budget also provides more resources for higher education, including graduate medical education and the state's financial aid program.

For the first time since 2006, lawmakers approved tuition revenue bonds that are used to finance construction on college and university campuses around the state. About $3.1 billion will be available for the projects if Gov. Greg Abbott signs House Bill 100.

Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, accused his fellow Republicans of keeping taxes low by issuing debt and ignoring critical state needs. He estimated the legislature will leave Austin in June with more than $7 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and $2.5 billion in unmet transportation needs.

However, Eltife said that for the first time since he was elected to the Senate in 2005, lawmakers aren't pretending everything is fine.

"I think this session we're finally admitting we have problems," Eltife said in a prepared statement. "We can't solve them overnight, but we have to admit we've neglected so much in this state. Now's the time to fix them."

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