The Hole Ball Game
As lawmakers try to determine what can and cannot be done with the stimulus money, a crucial question has arisen. The purpose of the stimulus money is to help states fill holes in their budget. The question is: Does Texas have a hole–or, to put it another way, will the feds decide that Texas doesn’t have a hole? The issue here is the Rainy Day fund. Texas has socked away $7 billion with more to come. Will the feds say that Texas doesn’t really have a hole, because it could use the Rainy Day fund to fill it? This is a question that is worrying appropriators. Will the feds say, you have to use your own money before you can use our money?
Tagged: rainy day fund, stimulus money, texas.
David Siegel says:
The Senate has apparently already answered this question. What did they do? Did the Senate Finance Committee use the $3.25 billion state stabilization grant to improve public and higher ed? Did they use the $5.5 billion from the better Medicaid match to expand funding of health services? Or did it all get poured into the black hole of paying for the irresponsible property tax cuts passed in 2006?
I can’t tell from any of the news coverage.
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Kimmy says:
I think the stimulus message is the cost drivers in your budget.
What cost drivers are bigger now due to the economy? I think that is the first priority of the money. Do you have more people unemployed? Do you have textbooks unfunded? Do you have more claims coming in for CHIP and Medicaid?
First and foremost, that’s where your money goes. What you have on hand to pay for it is secondary although often linked.
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paulburka says:
The big bucks go to Medicaid, reducing the state match and freeing up GR that can be used without restrictions. The next big chunk goes to education, around $3.2 billion, which is distributed to schools based on their Title I and special ed enrollments but the money is not restricted to those purposes. Then there was the transportation money ($2.5 billion) and the unemployment money (if we end up getting it).
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Pete Schweddy says:
“Will the feds say, you have to use your own money before you can use our money?”
IT IS ‘OUR’ MONEY. ALL TAX DOLLARS ARE PAID BY THE PEOPLE. GOVERNMENT EARNS NOTHING. IT TAKES AND ALLOCATES.
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Spiro Agnew says:
Don’t worry. Tim Geithner is going to merge our dollar with China’s money to form a global currency. Everything will be fine. Just calm down. The One is in charge now.
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David Siegel says:
Paul: The $3.25 billion goes to the school districts only if the state doesn’t use it first “to restore public and higher education funding to 08 or 09 levels.” Are you telling me that the Senate is letting all that money flow through to the school districts? If so, how do you know? Did Senate Finance actually release a copy of the budget?
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Blue says:
Um, I’m pretty sure that education funding in the introduced bills was at or above 08 and 09 levels. That’s part of the reason Texas has a lot of flexibility with the stimulus money.
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spirit of buck travis says:
Anyone seen anything regarding rules of applying any of the federal stimulus funds? Not much coming out of the pink build
ing that I’ve seen.
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David Siegel says:
Blue: The apparent federal rule is, if “education funding in the introduced bills was at or above 08 and 09 levels,” the all of the $3.25 billion must go to school districts according to the Title I distribution formulas, i.e. no flexibility as far as the state is concerned.
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Anonymous says:
Great op-ed in the Houston Chronicle today on Perry’s rejection of UI stimulus: “These so-called strings and burdens are really requirements for Texas to modernize…. Texas, after all, is ranked 50th in the United States in terms of the percentage (only 20 percent) of unemployed Texans who actually collect unemployment….”
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