August 14, 2017      10:56 PM
Senate pushes hard on school finance deal, advances $351 million for school districts, $212 million for TRS-Care
Vote was 25 to 6 on HB21 and 26 to 5 on HB 30 on second reading
The special session’s school finance bills made it to the
floor of the Texas Senate on Monday night and the ragged edges of continuing
negotiations were evident.
Sen. Larry Taylor,
R-Friendswood, admitted some aspects of negotiations were ongoing, but that the
House had agreed to consider using a deferral of a managed care payment to
finance what may end up being a short-term finance fix and funds to shore up TRS-Care.
Privately, House members said Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, was reticent to put the funding
mechanism on the table, for fear it would put more stress on a state health
care system already strained by funding cuts. No doubt the Senate’s refusal to
restore cuts to critical therapy services during the regular session would be
on the minds of the House leadership.
By Kimberly Reeves
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