05.03.06
Correction On Stipend Vote And The State Of HB’s In The Senate
First, a correction to my previous post. The stipend was not cut for teachers but for support staff. Here’s the details:
The Senate Finance Committee voted eight to six for a $500 cut in health-care money for support personnel, effective September 1, 2007. The cut, which is in the Senate committee substitute for HB 1, hits 300,000-plus school employees in the pocketbook–everyone except classroom teachers and full-time counselors, librarians, and school nurses.
TFT President Linda Bridges denounced the committee vote. “Despite a record $8.2 billion surplus in the state treasury, the Senate Finance Committee today voted to cut health-care pay for 300,000 public school employees,” she said. “Those affected include workers who need health-care money the most–custodians, teacher assistants, food service workers, bus drivers and others. This heartless vote is a slap in the face to members of the educational team that every child in our public schools depends upon.”
It was an almost straight party line vote. This makes it very clear who’s for the working people in this state and who isn’t:
The six senators who stood up for support personnel and voted to keep the $500 health-care stipend flowing were:
Judith Zaffirini, Democrat of Laredo, author of today’s amendment to defend support staff
Bob Deuell, Republican of Greenville
Royce West, Democrat of Dallas
Juan Hinojosa, Democrat of Corpus Christi
Frank Madla, Democrat of San Antonio
John Whitmire, Democrat of Houston
The eight senators who voted to cut health-care pay for support personnel by $500 were:Florence Shapiro, Republican of Plano
Kip Averitt, Republican of Waco
Kim Brimer, Republican of Arlington
Robert Duncan, Republican of Lubbock
Kyle Janek, Republican of Houston
Jane Nelson, Republican of Flower Mound
Todd Staples, Republican of Palestine
Steve Ogden, Republican of College Station
They’re having trouble getting HB 1 out of the Senate Finance Committee and will meet again tomorrow morning at 9:30 am.
HB 5, the cigarette tax, also seems to be in trouble. They have the money to pass it out of committee, Dewhurst (via QR) says but not to enough votes to bring it up on the floor. How that effects HB 3 and the rest of the “tax-swap” we’ll have to wait and see.