November 30, 2020 5:17 PM LBB takes conservative route on budget revenue capComptroller Hegar says the budget should be “very manageable,” Dick Lavine at Every Texan says “Fully funding services is more important than ever given the public health crisis, the challenges facing schools, the stress and financial hardships facing families, the rising uninsured rate, etc.” The Legislative
Budget Board chose a growth rate of 7.06 percent – roughly equivalent
to population plus inflation – to put a constitutional cap of $105.8 billion in
general revenue on the budget for the 87th session. The vote was unanimous and
on the lower end of the five projected growth rates provided by the
Comptroller, which ranged from 5.27 percent to 12.64 percent.
Comptroller Glenn Hegar own estimate was at the lower range of those
projections, which peg the estimated increase in personal income in the state. Hegar’s message to the board, co-chaired by Speaker Dennis
Bonnen and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, was that the eventual hole in the
budget will be less dire than predicted in July, although Hegar did not land on
a specific number on Monday afternoon. The rest of the story, subscribers only By Kimberly Reeves |
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November 30, 2020 11:19 AM Presumptive Speaker Phelan asks members to start collecting and assessing ideas for changes to Texas House rules Representatives Ana Hernandez, Todd Hunter, Brooke Landgraf, and Joe Moody have been asked by Phelan to reach out to all House members for their ideas. Meantime, the workgroup on legislative operations during the pandemic continues its work Presumptive
Speaker Dade Phelan’s letter is here.
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November 24, 2020 4:37 PM Bipartisan push begins for full insurance coverage of telehealth servicesThe health plans push back, saying the proposals would “do nothing to remove the regulatory barriers that everyone says they do”; supporters of the legislation say “doctors deserve to be paid for their services,” plain and simple Two bills filed in the Texas
House would expand insurance coverage to mental health providers and
require full reimbursement for telehealth services. Rep. Julie Johnson,
D-Dallas, authored HB 522. Rep. Tom Oliverson,
R-Houston, authored HB 515. The identical bills would
require insurance plans to pay the same rate for telemedicine services as they
do for in-person sessions, also known as pay parity. The rest of the story, subscribers only By James Russell |
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November 23, 2020 5:13 PM Amid budget shortfall and with growing bipartisan support, marijuana reform may get a boost in Texas
Rep. Joe Moody,
D-El Paso, opened the virtual Texas Marijuana Policy Conference with
his own conversion story. Moody was an El Paso prosecutor when he joined the Texas
Legislature in 2013. “I was an assistant
district attorney,” Moody told conference attendees. “I’ve put people behind
bars for marijuana possession.” But the words of one of
his constituents – someone who gave him a real-life look into his world –
convinced Moody to switch sides. The rest of the story, subscribers only By Kimberly Reeves |
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November 23, 2020 4:23 PM Walmart Rejected by Supreme Court on Texas Liquor Sales
The latest via
Bloomberg News: The U.S. Supreme
Court turned away a bid by Walmart Inc. to start selling
liquor at its Texas stores, leaving intact for now a state law that bars such
retail sales by publicly owned companies. The rebuff, which came without
comment, sends Walmart’s challenge back to a federal trial court, where the
world’s largest retailer will have to show that Texas is intentionally
discriminating against out-of-state commerce with the 1995 ban. Walmart said it shouldn’t have to show intentional discrimination because the
Texas law has the effect of excluding virtually all out-of-state retailers,
violating the Constitution. The company says 98% of liquor stores in the state
are wholly owned by Texans. The ban “operates to block anyone in a position to
compete with Texans in the retail liquor market from doing so,” Walmart argued
in its unsuccessful appeal. |
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November 23, 2020 10:38 AM McCaig: It is time for a serious GOP investment in the Rio Grande ValleyIn this opinion piece, Houston GOP activist Mark McCaig argues the Republican Party can win in South Texas if real work is done there, not just the photo ops embraced by Texas GOP Chairman Allen West The historic gains made by
President Trump and other Republicans in the Rio Grande Valley has been
one of the most widely reported stories to come out of the recent election.
While President Trump outperformed other Republicans in this region, the
coattails of his success were experienced in other races as well. For example, Monica de
la Cruz Hernandez came within less than three points of achieving a
monumental upset against incumbent Congressman Vicente Gonzalez in a district
anchored in Hidalgo County. Additionally, Republicans picked up two seats on
the 13th Court of Appeals that had been held by Democrats. While unexpected by many,
the success of Republicans in the Rio Grande Valley should come as no surprise.
Culturally, the Rio Grande Valley is similar in many respects to the rural
regions of Texas that are now the backbone of Republican dominance in Texas
despite having been Democratic strongholds a few decades ago. The rest of the story, subscribers only By Mark McCaig |
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Copyright November 30, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved 