By State Rep. Stefani Carter
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas The current financial crisis we are experiencing required the members of the Texas House of Representatives to make some very difficult decisions during the 82nd Legislature. Senate Bill 1 had to pass in order for the state budget to be certified but it passed without my support. Heres why.
I was elected after promising not to support any new fees or taxes and I have stayed true to that promise by voting against legislation that would impose such things.
SB 1 in part authorizes agencies to set and charge numerous new fees.
Additionally I understand that funding cuts must be made to ensure a balanced budget and I certainly support a government limited in scope and size. However I was disappointed that SB 1 became the vehicle for a school finance plan.
For example SB 1 includes school finance provisions resulting in $4 billion of cuts to school districts across the state over the next two years.
I cannot support such deep cuts to our Texas classrooms.
Unfortunately SB 1 also includes the so-called Amazon tax which creates an unfriendly business environment and may cause our state to lose jobs.
I cannot support such a tax.
That being said I fully support various provisions in SB 1. For instance SB 1 includes a requirement for a person to provide proof of United States citizenship
or documentation when requesting or renewing a drivers license.
SB 1 also includes an extension of the Texas small business franchise tax exemption which is a bill I co-authored during the regular session (House Bill 579).
I support these aspects of SB 1.
Voting against SB 1 was not easy given its necessity the time and effort we have all put into it and the good parts of the bill. However I ultimately could not reconcile all the good with the bad and therefore I had to vote against it.
Stefani Carter is serving her 1st term representing House District 102 which includes parts of the cities of Dallas Richardson & Garland. She is a former prosecutor & native of the Dallas area.
