Enabled Spending Growth without Reforms or Transparency: House of Bad Cards

This is technical, but important.

HB 4488, while presented as a routine fiscal management tool, represents a continuation of a problematic budgeting practice that undermines transparency and distorts the state's financial picture. The bill extends the state's use of a longstanding loophole, codified in Government Code Section 403.095, that allows unappropriated balances in dedicated revenue accounts to be counted as part of the general revenue available for budget certification.

While this mechanism does not authorize actual expenditure of those balances, it enables lawmakers to certify larger budgets by inflating the apparent revenue base, circumventing constitutional spending limits without raising taxes or making budgetary trade-offs.

No hijinks when it comes to taxpayer money.

GOP Platform Conflict: Plank 62 emphasizes fiscal responsibility and transparency.

RV#1543: Yea 120 (R 62, D 58) - Nay 25 (R 24, D 1)
View Source

Yea - Allen; Anchia; Ashby; Barry; Bell, C.; Bell, K.; Bernal; Bhojani; Bonnen; Bowers; Bryant; Buckley; Bucy; Button; Campos; Canales; Capriglione; Cole; Collier; Cook; Craddick; Cunningham; Curry; Darby; Davis, A.; Davis, Y.; Dean; DeAyala; Dorazio; Dutton; Dyson; Fairly; Flores; Frank; Gamez; Garcia Hernandez; Garcia, J.; Garcia, L.; Gates; Gerdes; Geren; Gervin-Hawkins; Gonzalez, J.; Gonzalez, M.; Goodwin; Guerra; Guillen; Harless; Harris; Harris Davila; Hefner; Hernandez; Hinojosa; Howard; Hull; Hunter; Isaac; Johnson; Jones, V.; Kerwin; King; Kitzman; LaHood; Lalani; Lambert; Landgraf; Leach; Leo Wilson; Lopez, J.; Lopez, R.; Louderback; Lozano; Lujan; Manuel; Martinez; Martinez Fischer; McQueeney; Metcalf; Meyer; Meza; Moody; Morales Shaw; Morales, C.; Morales, E.; Munoz; Noble; Oliverson; Ordaz; Patterson; Paul; Perez, M.; Perez, V.; Phelan; Plesa; Raymond; Reynolds; Rodriguez Ramos; Romero; Rose; Rosenthal; Schofield; Schoolcraft; Shaheen; Shofner; Simmons; Slawson; Smithee; Talarico; Tepper; Troxclair; Turner; VanDeaver; Villalobos; Vo; Walle; Ward Johnson; Wharton; Wilson; Wu; Zweiner

Nay - Alders; Bumgarner; Cain; Harrison; Hayes; Hickland; Holt; Hopper; Little; Lowe; Luther; McLaughlin; Money; Morgan; Olcott; Pierson; Richardson; Schatzline; Spiller; Swanson; Thompson; Tinderholt; Toth; Vasut; Virdell

Present, Not Voting - Burrows; Longoria

Please note: the following statements by legislators do not affect the vote count that was recorded.

AJ Louderback: "When Record No. 1543 was taken, I was shown voting yes. I intended to vote no." (view other statements of vote for this Rep)

Alan Schoolcraft: "When Record No. 1543 was taken, I was shown voting yes. I intended to vote no." (view other statements of vote for this Rep)

Hillary Hickland: "When Record No. 1543 was taken, I was shown voting no. I intended to vote yes." (view other statements of vote for this Rep)

(Bill summary provided in part by Texas Policy Research)