Texas Legislative Outlook, 2007
Last year the Texas legislature addressed a school funding lawsuit with the state’s budget surplus and some cigarette and business taxes. However, state spending caps may hamstring the plan in the 2008 fiscal year. Look for more discussion on funding in Texas. In addition, Texas has a pay-for-performance system that is opposed by many education groups and will be the subject of much attention from across the nation this year. Last year the legislature discussed district consolidation but did not act. The Senate Education Committee’s most vocal spokesperson for rural property poor districts, Todd Staples (R) who worked on the education finance bill to help address the concerns of those districts is the new Agriculture Commissioner. He has been replaced on the Education Committee by Dan Patrick (R), who campaigned to cut spending and increase financial accountability. This shift could re-align the urban-rural balance of the committee.