In a tight-money session, business interests mostly did fine

"Business did well. Business always does well," said Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston. "When everyone else has to make a sacrifice, business doesn't."

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Ms. Copelin, to Ms. Fikac, or click on the "comments" at the bottom of the story

R. G.'s Take: The Budget Session Nobody Enjoyed By R. G. Ratcliffe | BurkaBlog | Texas Monthly – The rumor was that the school finance plan that passed the House on Sunday by 84-63 already was unraveling with Republican members concerned about casting a vote that would hurt their district twice. Dewhurst gloomily predicted that a special session had the potential of lasting the full thirty days.

School finance sits atop agenda By Peggy Fikac and Gary Scharrer | San Antonio Express-News – Democrats said this is the time for Texans to make their voices heard if they oppose cuts. They welcomed a special session as a way to focus public attention on what they call GOP efforts to cut neighborhood schools.

By Laylan Copelin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 5:11 a.m. Tuesday, May 31, 2011 |Reprinted from the Statesman Read the complete story

A more conservative Texas Legislature came to Austin in January with a shaky economic recovery, billions less to spend and a promise not to raise taxes.

Taking care of business became the watchword as lawmakers shelved a long list of business tax "loopholes" identified as revenue sources and continued spending tax dollars to subsidize economic development.

Overall, business lobbyists give the Legislature high marks."I think Texas' stature of being one of the best places to do business remains unchanged by anything the Legislature did," said Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business, just a few days ago.

Then Sunday night a Democratic filibuster in the Senate killed Senate Bill 1811, a budget-related bill that was the vehicle for many topics, including continuing a small business tax exemption.

An estimated 28,000 small businesses could see their taxes increase unless Gov. Rick Perry and the Legislature revive the exemption in the special session set to start today.