Austin, TX

Texas legislature studies two ways to spend $130 billion

Published

1 year ago

January 19, 2023

Texas legislature studies two ways to spend $130 billion

AUSTIN, TX (KCBD) – After a brief week involving two temporary conferences underneath the dome and the inauguration ceremonies Tuesday, state lawmakers filed their 2024-25 finances proposals and adjourned for 5 days.

The 1,033-page budgets are related in mission however differ intimately on the right way to spend the state’s historic projected income stream and its $33 billion surplus from the final session. Each proposals cease on the constitutional and legislative spending caps of $130.1 billion {dollars}, leaving greater than $50 billion up for grabs in supplementary appropriations payments and different, post-session funding requests.

These state budgets applicable funding to every part from working prices for the Texas Bullion Depository to utility prices for various state companies, from salaries for state-employed staff to IT expenditures, and from public colleges to frame safety.

Buried within the public college financing portion of the budgets is $15 billion within the “Property Tax Reduction Fund,” which is able to go towards limiting how a lot a faculty district can cost a home-owner yearly. By lowering the “compression” on district’s tax charges, the state will pressure them to drag much less income from native taxpayers and can as an alternative subsidize that distinction with cash from the reduction fund.

It’s price noting the Home finances proposal would cut back the compression charge by 7.75 p.c; for comparability, in 2022-23 the proposal solely lowered the compression charge by 0.3 p.c. A college finance professional informed KCBD it is a good, “aggressive” step in making an attempt to make up for progress in appraisal values, which have gone up in Lubbock about 20% up to now two years. The professional stated combining that with a rise within the homestead exemption to $70,000 – which is included within the Senate model however not the Home model – would have a good probability at lowering the typical taxpayer’s obligations annually.

One other less-obvious funding plan for West Texas is the $350 million appropriated in 2024 for rural regulation enforcement grants. On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, promised that funding for sheriff’s workplaces who’re scuffling with paying their sheriffs and deputies sufficient to remain aggressive. The budgets set this cash apart underneath the Comptroller’s workplace, ready for laws to find out the right way to applicable it later within the session.

The road-item investments for method funding for Texas Tech didn’t change a lot, although a number of the Texas Tech System’s colleges obtained marginal modifications of their working budgets. On the identical time, the Senate has put aside $2.5 billion to determine what it calls an “endowment” for universities like Texas Tech to make the most of as a substitute for the Everlasting College Fund, which is reserved for the College of Texas and Texas A&M methods.

The Legislature additionally intends to speculate at the least $1 billion in its beleaguered juvenile justice system, which has confronted rising criticism over the previous 12 months on account of stories of insufficient staffing, unsafe and unsanitary dwelling circumstances, and poor psychological well being amongst detainees. That $1 billion funding would signify a 50% enhance in its working finances from 2022-23.

Now, every finances will undergo the everyday legislative course of, committees, amendments, flooring votes, amendments, and passage, earlier than going to what’s referred to as a “convention committee,” the place representatives from every chamber will hammer out and reconcile the 2 payments’ variations right into a single balanced finances. That’s the solely authorized obligation the Legislature is beholden to earlier than sine die Could 29.

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Austin, TX

Knicks set to acquire Mikal Bridges in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, AP sources say

Published

40 mins ago

June 26, 2024

Press Room

Knicks set to acquire Mikal Bridges in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, AP sources say

NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges is being traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the New York Knicks, where he will join Jalen Brunson and his other former Villanova teammates, two people with knowledge of the details said Tuesday.

The first trade between the New York rivals since 1983 will put Bridges in the lineup alongside Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, players who helped the Wildcats win two NCAA championships and were the core of a Knicks lineup that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

The Knicks will pay big to get him, with ESPN reporting that they are sending Bojan Bogdanovic to the Nets along with four unprotected first-round picks and one protected pick. The deal was confirmed to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity because it is not yet official.

The Nets acquired Bridges from Phoenix in the deal for Kevin Durant in February 2023 and he went on to average 26.1 points the rest of that season in helping Brooklyn reach the playoffs. The swingman scored 19.6 per game in 2023-24 but the Nets slipped to 32-50 and missed the postseason.

And while his team was struggling, he couldn’t help but notice how much fun his friends were having just a few miles away. The Knicks signed Brunson in the summer of 2022, traded for Hart in the 2022-23 season and then signed DiVincenzo last summer, and reached the second round in both seasons.

The four players helped Villanova win the 2016 NCAA title, and Brunson, Bridges and DiVincenzo were still there when the Wildcats won again in 2018.

They clearly can’t wait to get the band back together.

“This is crazy lol,” Bridges wrote on the social media platform X after the deal was reported.

Hart posted a picture of what appeared to be the four players smiling during a group video call.

The teams hadn’t made a deal since 1983, when the Nets were still in New Jersey and sent Len Elmore to New York for a future draft pick. This one gives Brooklyn more picks to build through the draft or package in further trades.

The Knicks had picks to move and have been looking to strengthen a team that has been on the rise. They were a game away from their first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals since 2000 last season despite losing a number of key players to injuries before and during the postseason.

Their new addition, on the other hand, doesn’t get hurt.

Bridges was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and is currently the NBA’s most durable player, which should quickly make him a favorite of Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. He has played in all 474 games in his career — and never missed a game in college, either — and led the league in minutes played in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that Brunson signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2022, not the Nets.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

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Austin, TX

‘It’s really helpful’: Central Texas workforce programs receive thousands in state funding

Published

8 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Press Room

‘It’s really helpful’: Central Texas workforce programs receive thousands in state funding

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Central Texas nonprofits just got more money to help their efforts increasing our workforce.

Twenty workforce skills training and job placement programs received more than $6.3 million in grant funding, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday.

The funding came via the Texas Talent Connection grant program, an initiative designed to aid “innovative education and workforce skills training programs that lead to successful job placement, increased wages, and improved job retention,” per the release.

Two of those programs are in the Austin area: American YouthWorks and Skillpoint Alliance.

‘Reach out to rural communities’

Skillpoint Alliance received $210,000 from the grant program.

Chief Executive Officer Kevin Brackmeyer said it will help them reach out to rural communities throughout all of the areas they serve.

“We’ve seen a lot of individuals who are coming to our training come from outside of these rural communities. We felt that it was urgent that we start really reaching out to those communities and really helping them get trained.”
Kevin Brackmeyer, Skillpoint Alliance Chief Executive Officer

Brackmeyer said they are setting up pop-up trainings in those rural places. He said the grant will also help expand the times they can train.

Skillpoint Alliance said their programs are free and they last four to six weeks. (Photo: KXAN)
Skillpoint Alliance said their programs are free and they last four to six weeks. (Photo: KXAN)
Skillpoint Alliance said their programs are free and they last four to six weeks. (Photo: KXAN)

“Adding more training sites at night as well as during the day with a focus on specific populations,” Brackmeyer said “One being the veterans that we love to serve.”

Skillpoint Alliance Electrical Instructor Matthew Singer is a veteran himself.

“It’s hard to reach veterans,” Singer said. “Often, large populations are in Killeen and San Antonio. So we try to go to them and provide them an opportunity to transfer from the military into a trade.”

‘Serve more young people’

American YouthWorks is another Austin nonprofit receiving the Texas Talent Connection Grant Program.

“Typically, students are spending half their time in our academic programs, finishing their GED or high school diploma and half of their time in the pre-apprenticeship job training programs,” said YouthBuild Program Director David Clauss.

Clauss said their $350,000 will go towards YouthBuild, a program for young adults who haven’t finished high school.

“Our YouthBuild programs job training is focused around the Austin economy,” Class said. “We provide job training in healthcare, IT, manufacturing and construction in the skilled trades.”

With this additional support, Clauss said they’re able to support over 120 to 150 young people.

The nonprofit said 80% of YouthBuild grads go on to higher education or a job in the Austin economy.

American YouthWorks said they work with young adults that are 17 to 24-years-old. (Photo: KXAN)

YouthBuild participant Eloy Vasquez is planning for that in his future.

“I actually want to like join trade school after this. A lot of the skills that I’ve learned here will definitely translate into what careers I’m trying to pursue.”
Eloy Vasquez, YouthBuild participant

Collectively, more than $50 million in grants have been awarded through the state’s grant program since 2015.

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Austin, TX

Global aerospace co. Acutronic names Austin its divisional HQ, plans additional investment in area

Published

16 hours ago

June 25, 2024

Press Room

Global aerospace co. Acutronic names Austin its divisional HQ, plans additional investment in area

A global aerospace giant that works with nearly every U.S. defense contractor has picked Central Texas for a multifaceted investment that is expected to result in more jobs, another manufacturing hub and workforce development training in the area. This article dives into what the company has planned and why it chose the Austin area for the next phase of its growth.

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