Texas Senate GOP tells Dems: "Eff you"

So much for the idea that supposedly reasonable Senate Republicans like Steve Ogden would stand up to allegedly more Neanderthalic GOP counterparts in the state House and hold the line on a budget that would tap the Rainy Day Fund.

Using parliamentary procedures to avoid the need for any Democratic support, the Texas Senate's 19-12 GOP majority has adopted a more radical budget than initially proposed:

Senate leaders used a special rule for House bills that allowed them to bring up the spending plan — a House bill — without Democratic support.

In less than five minutes and with no debate, Sen. Steve Ogden offered an amendment that stripped a contentious provision that would tap money from the Rainy Day Fund. The move helped him garner support from conservative Republican senators.

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate tentatively approved the $176.5 billion two-year state budget Wednesday, bypassing the long-held Senate tradition that requires a two-thirds agreement for the chamber to consider any legislation.

Senate leaders used a special rule for House bills that allowed them to bring up the spending plan — a House bill — without Democratic support.

In less than five minutes and with no debate, Sen. Steve Ogden offered an amendment that stripped a contentious provision that would tap money from the Rainy Day Fund. The move helped him garner support from conservative Republican senators.

They then quickly approved the budget on a 19-12 party-line vote. The budget faces one more vote before it can be sent back to the House for negotiations.

Here's an overview of what Ogden, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and other more "enlightened" Republicans now present back to the House:

Ogden's GOP-condoned compromise replaces about $3 billion in rainy-day money by underfunding Medicaid, pushing those payments to the end of the budget period. Absent increased revenue from an improving economy _which he expects — the budget would then force across-the-board cuts to state agencies other than basic public school operations.

The compromise called him to lose support of key Democrats.

In all funds, the Ogden's plan would still make about $11 billion in cuts, compared to the current budget. But the cuts are much less severe than those in the bare-bones House version.

First, far more than one and two legislative sessions ago, intraparty comity in the Texas Senate has been shattered, this time likely for good.

Second, is Steve Ogden, beyond thinking there's no way the House would compromise, starting to get afraid of tea party types himself?

Third, will Democrats in turn mount a more serious challenge to him in the future, tiring of his alleged "reasonableness"?

State Sen Ogden: Texas financing is broken

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden says the state may need to go back to its old franchise tax, the problem is that bad:

He says state law now requires spending more money in some areas than the state is allowed to collect. He calls that situation unstable and a big problem for the foreseeable future.

Lawmakers revamped the state business tax in 2006 at the same time they moved to cut property taxes. Experts say that left the state with a structural shortfall of about $10 billion every two years.

He actually wants a bigger change than that.

He'd like a straight-up corporate income tax.
“Even if you lose your shirt, you still may be liable for paying the business tax because it isn’t an income tax,” Ogden said. “That business tax is a mess.”
It takes cojones for a Republican to propose that. And, the devil would be in the details. But, Ogden's right on the need for change, and the need for serious change. Rick Perry's tweaking of the franchise tax WAS lipstick on a pig.

Realistically, though, nothing will change without yet another lawsuit by school districts.

Green shame on both old and new Texas state reps, namely Helen Giddings and Lois Kolkhorst

Helen Giddings, state rep at my old newspaper company, and soon to be my new newspaper company, and Lois Kolkhorst, state rep at my current job, both didn’t score so well in Environment Texas’ biennial rankings of legislators on their environmental votes.

In the House, Giddings, a Democrat, theoretically, from DeSoto, only scored 50 percent this year and has a 61 percent lifetime rating. Kolkhorst, a Brenham Republican, was bad at 33 percent, though that’s better than her lifetime rating of 24 percent.

Of course, I haven’t considered Giddings a real Democrat ever since she sold out to House Speaker Tom Craddick over Tom DeLay’s Congressional redistricting meddling.

On the Senate side, South Dallas Democrat Royce West was good but not great at 71 percent; south/east suburban Dallas Republican Bob Duell was OK at 57 percent. Down here in southeast Texas, Republican Steve Ogden was at 43 percent.