Rainy Day Senators
The state's budget debate moves to the Senate chamber, after the finance committee approved its 2012-2013 spending plan. Photo by Nathan Bernier for KUT News.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Just call Texas Senators “rainy day people.” (And bonus points to you, if you remember that Gordon Lightfoot tune!)
The finance committee of the Texas Senate approved a budget bill Thursday morning. The 11-4 vote send the proposal to the full Senate for consideration.
Unlike the House version of the 2012-2013 budget, the Senate’s package includes $3 billion out of the state’s “Rainy Day Fund.” Governor Rick Perry gave his blessing to using money from the fund to tide the state over for the rest of the current fiscal year, but he was opposed to using any of the money left over in the fund to bridge the shortfall in the budget for the next two years.
KUT’s Ian Crawford and Kate Alexander of the Austin American-Statesman discuss the Senate’s budget package and the looming battle to reconcile it to the House budget in this week’s “Texas Political Parlor.”
Podcast: Download (4.1MB)
