Colorado House initially OKs tight budget; final vote Monday

The House’s proposal would take $2.5 billion out of the state’s rainy day fund, dropping the projected balance down to $10.4 billion in 2019. The funding could still be removed since the House budget will have to be reconciled with the Senate’s budget.

The House also parted ways with the Senate by voting to bar state money from being diverted to private school tuition. When another lawmaker proposed only allowing those subsidies for poor students, the House still booted the measure by a vote of 117-27.

The original cuts reduced state reimbursement rates for therapy providers, leaving some children without speech and other therapies.

The state budget is the only piece of legislation that must pass during the regular session of the Texas Legislature.

A spokesman for Abbott said he was unfazed by the vote.

From the earliest stages of the House’s debate, it was clear that Zerwas had the backing of a large majority of his fellow members across party lines.

As of press time, the House had moved through about forty of its 93 amendments, and was expected to continue debate late into the night. Patrick’s office did not immediately return requests for comment on Thursday’s vote. “The Senate budget allows for the necessary calculations to be made in order to transfer the full funds to TXDOT and uphold our promise to the voters”.

Not all 402 amendments will be taken up. They say another juvenile was taken into custody Thursday afternoon on an unrelated burglary.

The House added $20 million for new state liquor stores on the northbound and southbound lanes of I-95, which were not in the governor’s proposal, along with $750,000 for NHLC headquarter renovations.

Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, proposed an amendment that would provide tampons to inmates. Under his amendment, he’d do away with some training programs within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Cain introduced his amendment as an attempt to stop “death panels”. “It is not the end”, said Rep. John Zerwas, R- Richmond.

Zerwas asked Cain whether he understood what palliative care was. “I would hope that we would still have an opportunity to have those discussions”. The House version of the budget became irrelevant after months of work by lawmakers and legislative staffers. Several of the amendments later were pulled down, and several more were voted down.

That apparently offended rural lawmakers, notably state Rep.

Stickland: “And can you tell me what effect that has on all of the amendments regarding the Texas Enterprise Fund that are behind it?” Jasper is making no effort to play nice. Laughter had erupted in the gallery. “It’s amusing until it happens to you”. “It’s politics by way of policy, and people on both sides of the the aisle saw through it”.