Texas Senate approves House school finance bill
The Texas Senate on Monday removed from the Legislature’s marquee school finance legislation, House Bill 3, provisions that could have made reductions to property taxes contingent upon an increase to the state sales tax.
The move signals a lack of confidence that a separate proposal – House Joint Resolution 3, which would increase the sales tax from a maximum of 8.25% to 9.25% pending voter approval – would garner enough support in the Texas Legislature. Fiscally conservative Republicans and Democrats are among those who have come out against increasing the sales tax.
The Senate approved HB 3, parts of which are different from the version that passed of the House last month, on Monday, with 26 voting for it. Republican Sens. Brandon Creighton of Conroe and Charles Schwertner of Georgetown voted against the bill and Sens. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, and Bob Hall, R-Edgewood were present but did not vote. The bill now moves to the House where members would have to approve the Senate’s changes to the bill, but differences will likely be sussed out in conference committee.
Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, who authored the Senate’s version of HB 3, told fellow members that the aim of the bill was to increase funding for low-income students and stop putting band-aids on the fractured school finance system.
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20190505/texas-senate-approves-house-school-finance-bill
