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AUSTIN - In a session that included everything from the passage of tort reform to a successful resolution making tortilla chips and salsa the official snack of Texas, it was a checkbook issue that provided the most spice in the 78th legislative session.
In fact, finding ways to alleviate a $9.9 billion budget shortfall, while revamping the justice system, enacting ethics changes and grappling with a host of insurance issues, dominated legislators' time as they searched for ways to make cuts without raisin- taxes.
A multi-state lottery, which is expected to bring the state treasury more than $100 million in the next two years, was passed. But heavy cuts were made to health care services and education.
After weeks of acrimonious debate, legislators approved a $117.4 billion spending plan that includes $58.2 billion raised from state taxes and fees.
More than $300 million - a more than $70 million decrease from the last biennium - has been budgeted for business and economic
development, according to figures provided the Legislative Budget Board.
"This Legislature was put through a very painful crash course in fiscal responsibility," said veteran Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, who June 2 was named president pro tem of the Texas Senate. "We were forced to make difficult choices, and we need to let this serve as a painful reminder that now and in the future we need to justify every penny that we spend."
Lawsuit overhaul
Tort reform advocates applauded passage of HB 4, which calls for classaction litigation reform and caps on noneconomic damages for medical malpractice cases. It also encourages, early settlement of civil and class-action suits.
"These reforms will move Texas from one of the worst states in the nation in terms of civil justice laws to one of the five best," said Ken Hoagland, a spokesman for Texans for Lawsuit Reform in Houston.
The bill requires plaintiffs to pay the defendants' legal fees if the plaintiff declines a settlement offer and a judge or jury subsequently returns a verdict that is less than 120% of the...