E
Earl Bollinger
Guest
It is sort of disgusting, if I pay the extra $30 for a "Share the Road"
license plate the money will never go to promoting cycling at all.
It sort of urks me a lot too.
Heck I was going to get a plate for my truck, but what for? So the state can
use the money to pay for some big party at the capital?
Plus it isn't just texas doing it either, all the states are in on it too.
Legislature urged to stop raiding dedicated funds
By JAY ROOT and JOHN MORITZ
STAR-TELEGRAM AUSTIN BUREAU
AUSTIN - Whether it's the money Texans pay to get a horned lizard license
plate or the 65-cent fee collected on utility bills, the Texas Legislature
has been using dollars dedicated for one cause to boost spending on others.
On Monday, state leaders and politicians said it's time to stop the
practice.
The calls for reform come amid recent reports that millions of dollars
raised from "conservation" license plates, such as the one heralding Texas
bluebonnets, aren't funding state parks even though motorists who agree to
pay an additional $30 for the plates are told that's where the money goes.
All of the leading candidates for governor criticized the use of dedicated
funds for other programs.
"This is a shell game being played by the politicians," said independent
candidate Kinky Friedman. "It's just like the lottery. We're told that was
supposed to fix education, and that was a sham. The people are being duped
and the politicians are getting rich."
Chris Bell, the Democratic nominee, said lawmakers are "perpetrating a fraud
on the people of Texas." Although Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed into law
the appropriation bill allowing the funding diversions, his spokeswoman,
Kathy Walt, said he opposes the concept.
"If lawmakers are going to have dedicated funds, they ought to meet their
commitment to the people of Texas and use those monies for their intended
purpose," Walt said. "If they cannot do that, the governor believes they
ought to eliminate the fees that go into those dedicated accounts."
Despite the outcry, a leading state legislator and co-author of the last
state spending bill said he expects the practice to continue. Rep. Jim
Pitts, a Waxahachie Republican who heads the budget-writing House
Appropriations Committee, said that in recent years lawmakers have diverted
funds earmarked for one purpose to another "to meet more pressing budget
needs, such as public education and health and human services."
Pitts said state leaders probably will retain the option of using dedicated
funds when the Legislature considers the 2008-09 budget during the next
regular session starting in January.
"We will be looking at all of these dedicated accounts next session," Pitt
said, "and will consider appropriate levels of funding for specific programs
in light of all of our budget demands."
Here's how the process works: Money flows into dedicated accounts from a
variety of fees, such as the $30 nature-loving motorists spend on specialty
license plates, or the 65-cent utility fee ratepayers are charged, on
average, to help low-income Texans pay their electric bills.
But instead of giving all the money to the programs or departments that the
dedicated funds were supposed to support, lawmakers hold back some or all of
it. And since it's sitting in the state Treasury, it's deemed available to
spend.
Lawmakers can restore the funding, pass legislation that raids it outright
and uses it elsewhere, or just keep relying on the balances every two years
to prop up the budget. The conservation license plate revenue, supposedly
dedicated to parks and wildlife projects, is one tiny example. Parks
officials say the account into which the license plate revenue goes will
have $4.3 million at the end of August. But lawmakers voted to give the
parks department only $106,000 a year out of that account when they passed
the state budget in 2005.
They get to use any unused funds to offset spending elsewhere. Nevertheless,
when Texans buy the plates, they're told that the money "goes to Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department for acquisition and development, maintenance or
operation of parks, fisheries and wildlife projects," according to the
Transportation Department's Web site.
The use of dedicated funds for nondedicated purposes has been going on at
least since the early 1990s. However, the amount of dedicated money used
this way has grown dramatically in the past six years. Less than $500
million in dedicated money was diverted to balance the 2000-01 budget.
Over the next two years, a record $2.75 billion in "dedicated" state revenue
will be used to free up money for other spending priorities, state officials
say.
Former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, a Republican, said the more lawmakers use
dedicated funds for unrelated projects, the less people trust them.
"I think it creates a credibility problem," Ratliff said.
-------------------------
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely
in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up,
totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming -- WOW--What a ride!!!"
license plate the money will never go to promoting cycling at all.
It sort of urks me a lot too.
Heck I was going to get a plate for my truck, but what for? So the state can
use the money to pay for some big party at the capital?
Plus it isn't just texas doing it either, all the states are in on it too.
Legislature urged to stop raiding dedicated funds
By JAY ROOT and JOHN MORITZ
STAR-TELEGRAM AUSTIN BUREAU
AUSTIN - Whether it's the money Texans pay to get a horned lizard license
plate or the 65-cent fee collected on utility bills, the Texas Legislature
has been using dollars dedicated for one cause to boost spending on others.
On Monday, state leaders and politicians said it's time to stop the
practice.
The calls for reform come amid recent reports that millions of dollars
raised from "conservation" license plates, such as the one heralding Texas
bluebonnets, aren't funding state parks even though motorists who agree to
pay an additional $30 for the plates are told that's where the money goes.
All of the leading candidates for governor criticized the use of dedicated
funds for other programs.
"This is a shell game being played by the politicians," said independent
candidate Kinky Friedman. "It's just like the lottery. We're told that was
supposed to fix education, and that was a sham. The people are being duped
and the politicians are getting rich."
Chris Bell, the Democratic nominee, said lawmakers are "perpetrating a fraud
on the people of Texas." Although Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed into law
the appropriation bill allowing the funding diversions, his spokeswoman,
Kathy Walt, said he opposes the concept.
"If lawmakers are going to have dedicated funds, they ought to meet their
commitment to the people of Texas and use those monies for their intended
purpose," Walt said. "If they cannot do that, the governor believes they
ought to eliminate the fees that go into those dedicated accounts."
Despite the outcry, a leading state legislator and co-author of the last
state spending bill said he expects the practice to continue. Rep. Jim
Pitts, a Waxahachie Republican who heads the budget-writing House
Appropriations Committee, said that in recent years lawmakers have diverted
funds earmarked for one purpose to another "to meet more pressing budget
needs, such as public education and health and human services."
Pitts said state leaders probably will retain the option of using dedicated
funds when the Legislature considers the 2008-09 budget during the next
regular session starting in January.
"We will be looking at all of these dedicated accounts next session," Pitt
said, "and will consider appropriate levels of funding for specific programs
in light of all of our budget demands."
Here's how the process works: Money flows into dedicated accounts from a
variety of fees, such as the $30 nature-loving motorists spend on specialty
license plates, or the 65-cent utility fee ratepayers are charged, on
average, to help low-income Texans pay their electric bills.
But instead of giving all the money to the programs or departments that the
dedicated funds were supposed to support, lawmakers hold back some or all of
it. And since it's sitting in the state Treasury, it's deemed available to
spend.
Lawmakers can restore the funding, pass legislation that raids it outright
and uses it elsewhere, or just keep relying on the balances every two years
to prop up the budget. The conservation license plate revenue, supposedly
dedicated to parks and wildlife projects, is one tiny example. Parks
officials say the account into which the license plate revenue goes will
have $4.3 million at the end of August. But lawmakers voted to give the
parks department only $106,000 a year out of that account when they passed
the state budget in 2005.
They get to use any unused funds to offset spending elsewhere. Nevertheless,
when Texans buy the plates, they're told that the money "goes to Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department for acquisition and development, maintenance or
operation of parks, fisheries and wildlife projects," according to the
Transportation Department's Web site.
The use of dedicated funds for nondedicated purposes has been going on at
least since the early 1990s. However, the amount of dedicated money used
this way has grown dramatically in the past six years. Less than $500
million in dedicated money was diverted to balance the 2000-01 budget.
Over the next two years, a record $2.75 billion in "dedicated" state revenue
will be used to free up money for other spending priorities, state officials
say.
Former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, a Republican, said the more lawmakers use
dedicated funds for unrelated projects, the less people trust them.
"I think it creates a credibility problem," Ratliff said.
-------------------------
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely
in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up,
totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming -- WOW--What a ride!!!"