San Antonio Express-News - January 28, 2015
by Mike Ward
As its new leaders promised, the Texas Senate on Tuesday unveiled a starting-point budget that includes a whopping $4 billion in tax relief for property owners and businesses, to be paid for through economic growth even as the state budget continues to grow.
The blueprint from which senators will begin writing the spending plan for 2016 and 2017 proposes an additional $5 billion for transportation projects to alleviate highway congestion, significant additional money for public schools and $815 million more for border security — enough to keep National Guard troops stationed on the border for two more years.