Maybe Trump's border surge can help Texas even budget
AUSTIN – Amid the gloomy forecasts of shrinking state revenues in the face of rising demand for spending on things like education and child protection, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus suggested last week that he might see a rainbow among the clouds.
And beneath that rainbow might sit a pot of gold worth as much as $750 million.
That's how much the state is spending for state troopers and other law enforcement assets in an effort to bolster security along the Texas-Mexico border.
A sizable chunk of that money could no longer be needed if President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his signature campaign promise to have the federal government clamp down on illegal immigration.
“We cannot keep virtually doubling the border security budget for the State of Texas every two years," said Straus, a San Antonio Republican who is expected to win his fifth term at the helm of the House when the Legislature convenes in January. " I do think border security in whatever form it takes is going to be a more serious concern for this administration.
"And anything that alleviates the budget from a job we shouldn’t have to be doing in the first place, I’m strongly supportive," he added during a Q&A at the University of Texas at Austin hosted by the Texas Tribune.
Other state Republican leaders have also expressed optimism since the election that more federal money will be flowing toward the Texas border. But that doesn't mean the GOP is backing away from its traditional hardline stance on illegal immigration. In the past week or so, both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have amped up their promises to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities in Texas, even though no municipality in the state has passed ordinances instructing local law enforcement to ignore federal immigration law.
Abbott took his stance one step further, saying he'd bar state tax dollars from "sanctuary campuses," referring to colleges and universities that flout federal immigration law.
When lawmakers do return to the Capitol next month, there's one who we will be seeing a lot less of – veteran state Rep. Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi. It's not that Hunter is planning to keep a low profile in the Capitol, it's just that he's shed quite a few pounds, 64 of them to be exact, since the 2015 session.
His sense of humor did not shrink with his waist line. The 63-year-old Hunter joked during an appearance last week in Austin that his new physique has given him "the body of a 22-year-old" but "the face of a 98-year-old."
Since the election, we've been keeping a running scorecard on which Texans might be Washington-bound to serve at some level in the new Trump administration. So far, the word from Trump Tower appears mostly to be "thanks, but no thanks, y'all."
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump's one-time rival for the GOP nomination, was passed over for attorney general. Congressman Jeb Hensarling of Dallas was the runners-up for treasury secretary.
Former Gov. Rick Perry, also an also-ran for president, had been mentioned as a possible energy secretary or perhaps secretary of defense. But the president-elect took a pass on Perry for both posts. The ex-governor might still have an outside shot at secretary of veterans affairs, but word surfaced last week that former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is getting a look-see for that job.
Still in the hunt as of Friday was Congressman Michael McCaul of Austin for homeland security secretary. McCaul chairs the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee and he is from the state with the longest border that''s shared with Mexico.
Coming up: The House Transportation Committee, chaired by El Paso Democrat Joe Pickett, will hear testimony Wednesday on how Texas might deal with driverless cars. The hearing starts at 9 a.m. at the Capitol and will be livestreamed via the House website.
On Thursday and Friday, the Texas Sunset Commission, which recommends whether to continue state agencies or to modify their reasons for being, will take testimony on several agencies, including the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Medical Board and others. Visit www.sunset.texas.gov/meetings for the full list and the livestream information.