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TTC-69 Public Hearing
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REP. ZERWAS CONTINUES TO WORK TO RESTORE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FUNDING
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Austin – On Friday June 15, 2007 Governor Rick Perry vetoed $154 million dollars appropriated for community college health group benefits for fiscal year 2009. Representative John Zerwas, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, immediately requested the Governor to reverse his decision and work with the Legislature to restore funding.
Despite the outcry from the Legislature and citizens from across the state Governor Perry refused to reconsider his decision. In response, Representative Zerwas and House Appropriations Chairman Warren Chisum wrote a joint letter requesting the Governor to work with the Legislative Budget Board to find a solution. The letter also questioned the Governor's charge that community colleges falsified legislative appropriations request and asked the Governor to produce evidence to substantiate his claim. A copy of the letter has been included with the press release.
On August 14, 2007 the Governor's office presented a compromise for funding restoration to the Senate Higher Education Committee. Representative Zerwas was pleased to see progress on this issue and reiterated his commitment to secure the funds.
"I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Legislature and community leaders to restore this vital funding for our community and junior colleges."
Contact: Bryan Law
512-463-0657
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Below is the joint letter to the Governor:
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The Honorable Rick Perry
Governor, State of Texas
Capitol Building, Room 2S.1
Austin, Texas 78701
Dear Governor Perry,
The work of crafting the state's two year budget is always the top priority of the Legislature while in session. As Governor, you completed this process by signing House Bill 1 and House Bill 15 into law. However, many members of the Legislature were surprised by the line item veto of the Higher Education Employees Group Insurance Contributions for Public Community and Junior Colleges for fiscal year 2009.
On behalf of the community colleges, junior colleges and the many constituents who have contacted our offices, we formally ask you to reconsider your comments regarding this veto and join us in identifying a means by which these funds may be restored before the next regular session. We believe this is a reasonable request, especially in light of the fact that your original budget had a $210 million appropriated for this purpose.
The Texas economy continues to demand employees with various degrees of higher education. Large fiscal disruptions to any institutions of higher education in Texas will have severe consequences for the students and staff. Further, Texas' ability to educate our workforce will be directly impacted by this veto, especially at the local level. Your decision appears contradictory to our past efforts to enhance access to higher education and strengthen the workforce in Texas.
We also take umbrage with your suggestion that the community colleges budget requests were falsified. At a joint meeting of your staff and Legislative Budget Board staff on October 2nd, 2006, the issue of proportionality was discussed. Despite the opposing viewpoints on this issue, we believe the requests submitted by these institutions met the spirit of the instructions provided by your office and the LBB. In addition, the House and Senate were aware of the disagreement on methodology, and it was carefully considered during the development of a responsible and strategic budget for the community colleges. This area of funding was an important part of the long term goals of enhancing higher education opportunities in Texas.
We look forward to your response and hopefully a resolution to the current situation. We maintain our strong desire to work with you to improve access to higher education for all Texans and hope that you remain open to future discussion on this matter.
Sincerely,
Representative Warren Chisum
Chairman, House Appropriations
Representative John Zerwas
Member, House Appropriations
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