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Texas Senate Approves Restoration Of Some Education/Medicaid Funds

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Education funding took a massive hit during the 2011 legislative session as law makers tried to balance the budget. About 5.4 billion dollars was cut, but many lawmakers in this session are hopeful that the full amount can be restored.

A little under a third of the funding restoration has been approved by the Texas Senate, which unanimously approved 1.7 billion additional dollars be allocated to Texas Schools. The Austin-American Statesman reports an additional 4.5 million dollars was allocated to Medicaid and healthcare for children.

The measure, House Bill 10, has already been approved by the House and with the Senate okay it goes back so the House can approve any Senate changes.

During discussion, Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, proposed using the Rainy Day fund to restore Education funding in its entirety, but withdrew her amendment due to a timetable requiring the Medicaid funds be approved by the legislature before Mid-march to avoid federal cuts.

Joey Palacios can be reached atJoey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules