March 24, 2017      5:38 PM

Amid controversial letter campaign, Education Chair says the votes aren't there yet to bring vouchers to Senate floor

Chair Taylor’s rough math on the new fiscal note would be $400 million in costs against $250 million in savings, which would result in a five-year cost of approximately $150 million

Senate Education kicked this session’s school choice bill out of committee this week, putting one more bill in motion that still does not have the votes to get on the floor for debate.

Sponsor and Chair Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, rolled out another substitute for Senate Bill 3 – his third version – in a Thursday morning meeting that ended in a 7-3-1 vote. The “nays” were Democrat Senators Royce West and Carlos Uresti, along with rural Republican Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo. Supporter Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, was absent for the meeting.

This version of Senate Bill 3 is moving so quickly it has yet to pick up a revised fiscal note.

Chairman Taylor openly admitted after the meeting that he does not have the votes to get the combination education savings account/tax-credit scholarship bill to the floor of the Senate, but he is optimistic some version of school choice could make it through both chambers by session’s end.

“What we send over there probably won’t be what comes back. Whatever comes back will probably be narrowed quite a bit, just based on the conversations I’ve been having,” Taylor said after a brief hearing to vote out bills. “But I think it does have a chance.”

By Kimberly Reeves

Copyright March 24, 2017, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved