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TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE--THURSDAY, JULY 2,
2009 * Gov. Perry Applies for Federal Education "Stimulus"
Funds Gov. Perry Applies for Federal Education Dollars: With just minutes to spare before the deadline, Gov. Rick Perry yesterday finally submitted an application for nearly $4 billion in federal economic-stabilization funds earmarked for education. The governor's application declared that the budget and school-finance bills passed in May, including a pass-through state pay raise for classroom teachers and other eligible professional staff, would comply with federal requirements for the use of these federal funds. The feds now are expected to respond to the Texas application within the next couple of weeks. So far, the U.S. Department of Education has shown considerable deference to the states when it comes to allocating the available money. Legislature Passes Two Bills and Adjourns: The Texas House and Senate made short work of the modest agenda for this week's special session, completing action on two bills and adjourning today barely 31 hours after the session opened yesterday morning. One bill extended the expiration date for a number of state agencies, which otherwise would have ceased to exist next year under the "sunset review" process. The bill adjusted the sunset-review schedule for a number of other agencies as well, including the Texas Education Agency, which now will face the sunset process in the 2013 legislative session. The other bill passed today dealt with highway funding. When it came up for House floor debate, Rep. David Leibowitz, Democrat of San Antonio, did a good job of establishing that there is no legislative authority for any attempt to use public pension funds, such as the Texas Teacher Retirement System fund, to finance road projects. Rep. Jim Pitts, the Republican from Waxahachie who offered the bill, affirmed there is no way the pension funds could be tapped under current law. Spotlight on Failure to Process Unemployment Claims: The Texas AFL-CIO today blew the whistle on the failure of the Texas Workforce Commission to process claims for extended unemployment benefits in timely fashion. Though Gov. Perry rejected $555 million in federal unemployment aid, the state did accept separate federal funding for a 13-week extension of benefits for Texans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and have been unable to find new work. However, as the Texas AFL-CIO said today, "The question is, will workers ever get the money?" Some workers in need of this emergency help apparently will end up having to wait months to receive it--a situation that is nothing short of outrageous. The state labor federation is trying to document the full extent of the problem, so if you, your family, or anyone you know is affected, please report the situation by e-mailing labor@texasaflcio.org. |
