August 15, 2017      6:27 PM

Updated: After heated debate, Texas House concurs on changes to school finance package

Vote on HB 21 was 94 to 46; vote on HB 30 was 118 to 24

Although they were unsatisfied with the version of HB 21 that came back from the Senate, House members ultimately voted in favor of the temporary fix for the state’s school finance system with a 94-46 vote.

“To say I’m disappointed is an understatement,” said Chairman Dan Huberty, R-Kingwood, as he asked for concurrence on Senate changes to HB 21. Huberty asked members to vote for the bill because it was “the right thing to do,” even though several aspects of the bill differed from House’s original version.

The biggest of these changes is the primary source of funding: deferral of managed care payment, proposed by the Senate, as opposed to using the Economic Stabilization Fund, which the House had approved prior to sending the bill to the Senate.

Copyright August 15, 2017, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved