Texas Senate defies Perry, votes to take stimulus money for jobless fund

[babylonsister]

Texas Senate defies Perry, votes to take stimulus money for jobless fund

06:58 AM CDT on Friday, April 17, 2009

By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
[e-mail]


AUSTIN – In a sharp rebuff of Gov. Rick Perry, the Senate on Thursday tentatively voted to accept $555 million in unemployment aid from the federal economic stimulus plan.

Senators voted 22-9 in favor of a bill by Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, that would authorize state officials to receive the stimulus money to shore up Texas' trust fund for unemployed workers.

The Texas Workforce Commission has estimated that the fund will drop $839 million below its minimum required level by Oct. 1 because of the large number of Texans receiving unemployment benefits this year.

If the stimulus funds are not accepted – as the governor has proposed – employers would be called on to make up the difference through a "deficit" unemployment insurance tax next year.

All of the no votes in the GOP-dominated Senate were cast by Republicans, but 10 GOP members joined with Democrats in voting for the bill.

A final vote will be needed before the measure goes to the House, where support is considered strong.

more...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/041709dntexunemployed.43fcb6d.html

[sonias]

1. It's even sweeter - he's stuck between a rock and a hard place

Postcards from the Lege blog - AAS 4/18/09
Update 2: House gives Perry ultimatum on unemployment money

UPDATE #2: In a later move, the House gave Perry an ultimatum. He can keep the $136 million budgeted for the governor’s enterprise fund, which is used for job creation incentives, if Texas gets the $555 million in additional unemployment money from the federal stimulus package.

But if Perry vetoes the legislation that would allow Texas to get that money, as he has indicated he will do, his enterprise fund money goes into a workforce training fund that is not controlled by the governor.

"It says: ‘OK, Governor, now what are you going to do?" quipped Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco.

Oh Ricky, what will you do?

:popcorn:

Sonia