Democrats left out of loop on Doggett amendment

by MARTIN BARTLETT / KVUE News

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Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:09 PM

AUSTIN – The back-and-forth over the Doggett Amendment has given Texans – and their leaders – a lesson in partisan politics, and so has its repeal.

News of the repeal broke Tuesday during the session of the House of Representatives. Word quickly spread among some members; other members were already in the know.

Shortly after adjourning on Tuesday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, a Republican, said the news put a smile on his face. Pitts said he, the governor, and the head of the Texas Education Agency had all been in communication.

Meanwhile, the Democratic vice-chairman of the House’s Public Education Committee, a frustrated State Rep. Scott Hochberg, said the only news he had about the development was what he had been able to read online. It was unclear to him if the money would go directly to the schools, bypassing the state legislature altogether.

State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, who sits on Hochberg’s committee, also said it was unclear exactly how or when the money would flow to Texas schools.

On the other hand, State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said the money would most likely be funneled to the Foundation School Program. She also warned that one string might not be clipped by the budget bill; Shapiro said the money might come with the requirement that it be spent during the current fiscal year which ends this fall. She also outlined the paperwork process which would precipitate the formal draw-down of the money. She estimates it will be in Texas within two weeks.

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