Texas Senate budget bill not quite as drastic in cuts as House budget bill

Less cuts that the house bill? You can't be serious!

It looks like the Texas Senate has a slightly less gloomy picture of the state's budget shortfall. The San Antonio Business Journal featured an article outlining the main difference between the House bill and the Senate bill. With local schools expecting substantial cuts at all levels, even a little bit of good news is welcomed.

The Texas Senate’s 2012-13 budget plan is not as severe as the one released last week by the House, but it still proposes a 15 percent reduction in state spending and — like the House plan — would not raise taxes or pull money from the state’s $9.4 billion Rainy Day Fund.

The biggest difference in the House and Senate proposals is on state spending for education. SB 1’s projected cuts would leave public schools with approximately $500 million more than the House’s plan, but still $9.3 billion short of what they would have under current funding formulas for education.

The upper chamber’s (senate's) initial proposed budget includes a total $69.8 billion for public and higher education, about $2.1 billion more than HB 1, which was released last week and looks to pare $13.7 billion to help offset a shortfall estimated between $15 billion and $27 billion.

Read more: Texas Senate's proposed budget isn't as deep as House version | San Antonio Business Journal