"Read my lips... No new taxes...?

As Texas prepares to make drastic budget cuts, the House is trying to find new ways to  generate revenue without adding more taxes.

Because many politicians have promised not to raise taxes, the house is attempting to come up with new ways to generate revenue without increasing the tax bill. One major option is HB658 by Rep. Villareal, which would close the corporate tax loophole. Then there is HB257, which seems to be aimed at reducing the period of presumed abandonment on unclaimed personal property. This would allow Texas to claim forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, and security deposits, if they are left for more than five years, compared with the current five years.

 

The next, and most likely option, is some accounting tricks that allow some of the payments to be delayed until the next legislative session in 2013. This will, however, put lots of pressure on the budget in the next legislative session. HB275 would allow taking money from the Rainy Day Fund to help ease some of the budget shortfalls.

Each piece of proposed legislation will likely do little to no good, but when applied all together, it will definitely have some affects

The author of this article is the founder of the website Off the Kuff, where this article came from. The intended audience is likely one with any interest in politics, or anyone who lives in Texas, as the budget cuts will likely affect all Texans.

The Judicial system of Texas is broken...

As we pass the biennial State of the Texas Judiciary speech, many people have been reaffirmed in their belief that the state needs to do an overhaul of the judiciary system.

Even Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson believes that Texas' judiciary system is broken and in desperate need of repair. As it currently stands, Texas only gets new Supreme Court justices via gubernatorial appointment when a vacancy comes about. After the governor makes his selection, the voters then can reaffirm that selection with a vote. They can, at the end of their appointed term, be reelected by the voters. These judges serve a four-year term, and appellate judges serve six-year terms.

Justice Wallace hopes to change this, however, and change the term of the justice to six years and appellate judges to serve eight-years. He feels that by creating longer terms, there will be a more consistent judicial branch.

The author has a point that the judicial system is broken, and Texas system of electing judges is not ideal. The author believes that there should be some major changes to the judicial system to make it more efficient. The author also feels that the way a society handles judicial issues will measure how they will be able to handle other moral issues. Information is cited from Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson's own speech at the State of the Judiciary Speech. Mr. Wallace seems to be uesd as the authority on the matter.

The intended audience is definitely one of a higher political knowledge. The wording is easy to understand, but younger people aren't typically interested or involved in things like this!

“The Chief justice understands it and justice demands it.”

Budget cuts and the school district

As the state attempts to balance the 2012 budgets, schools in the Austin area, as well as those throughout the state, are hoping for some flexibility with the drastic budget cuts to avoid laying off teachers.  So AISD, other district gamble on state law changes to write budget for 2011-2012.

AISD is experiencing approximately 15.5 million dollars in budget shortfall. The state of Texas has established laws on maximum students to teacher and furloughs that have been in place for nearly twenty-five years. With some flexibility in these issues, school districts could likely save millions of dollars.

 

School officials, as well as members of the Texas Association of School Boards, are hoping that by the legislature increasing the number of students to 24 from 22 per class in the elementary schools, and allowing teacher 2-day furloughs, they can save 3.7 million dollars as well as avoid laying off teachers to balance the budget. The district could request a waiver from the legislature if the cap on class sizes does not change.

The taxpayer will ultimately be the one to pick up the bill for any school district monetary problems. Even with the changes to class size, AISD will still need approximately 11 million dollars that they were counting on from the local, state, and federal governments.

If the legislature is to make any changes, however, they must make one soon.  State law requires school districts to notify employees at least 45 days before the end of the school year of any major changes, including changes in pay.

Taxpayers in Texas should pay close attention. This will likely increase taxes because the funds must come from somewhere. Parents, soon-to-be parents, and those who will eventually become parents also should pay close attention. This will affect students for years to come.