Special Session Agenda Fails to Address the Real Problem

(Press Release) Governor Abbott called lawmakers back to Austin to address the Texas Medical Board Sunset Bill that was held hostage by Lieutenant Governor Patrick. After this bill has passed the Senate, 19 items will be added to the agenda. The special session will last 30 days starting on July 18th, 2018.

School Finance reforms passed the House in regular session in bipartisan fashion. The Lieutenant Governor added vouchers to the bill effectively killing the bill. House Bill 21 reforms school finance by increasing the basic allotment per student, lowering the recapture rate, and creating a Hardship Provision Grant to provide assistance for districts experiencing hardship due to the expiration of ASATR.

Calling a special session and seeking to create a Commission on School Finance Reform costs taxpayers millions of dollars. The special session agenda includes several unneeded topics like the “bathroom bill.”

The Lieutenant Governor used the Medical Board Sunset bill as political football. The school finance solution sent to him by the House should have passed the Senate. It did not and here we are.

Representative Nevárez issued the following statement:

“There is no more important issue than school finance. The House managed to pass House Bill 21, which went a long way to address this issue. The Lieutenant Governor and now the Governor are heaving that aside. Property tax relief comes from sound school finance, not rollback rates. SB 2 and vouchers are not the solution.”