Perry vows to find cash for textbooks
Sure, and OJ Simpson is sparing no expense and travelling to the ends of the earth to find Nicole Brown's killer(s) (with a sand wedge by his side)....
AUSTIN -- Gov. Rick Perry on Friday promised to find revenue to replace a $67 million shortfall that threatens some textbook purchases this fall.
"The governor is committed to seeing that the schoolchildren get the textbooks that they need," said Kathy Walt, Perry's press secretary.
Members of the governor's staff discussed the textbook budget shortfall Friday with aides to the lieutenant governor, speaker and chairmen of the Senate and House budgetary committees.
Options for restoring the money include budget execution authority, which Perry and legislative leaders can do without legislation, and an emergency appropriation, which requires passage of a bill. A decision has not yet been made on how to address the shortfall.
"Government, like businesses, always has a variety of ways to address cash flow," said Walt.
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn told the Texas Education Agency this month that only $8 million of an expected $75 million windfall from a new law will be available to help purchase classroom materials. She blamed lawmakers and Texas Department of Transportation officials for miscalculating how much money the law would generate.
Given that Governor Goodhair has exhibited nothing remotely close to leadership thus far, I can't imagine why he'd want to exert himself now. He'll probably just pull a muscle or something.
