Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (TP) wants to bust the state spending cap in order to provide tax relief and pay down state debt while at the same time cutting social services.  But he doesn’t want his fingerprints on it.  The state spending cap is a complicated check on expenditures that many politicians do not understand.  Patrick has proposed a constitutional amendment to provide political cover for what might otherwise be seen as an effort to bust a spending cap that has served the state for 36 years.  The Texas Tribune attempts to explain the cap and Patrick’s proposal.

While a simple idea in theory, the spending cap in practice is a complicated measure that even some members of the Legislature have trouble grasping. The Texas Constitution says the government can’t grow faster than the state’s economy. State leaders set a growth rate of 11.68 percent for this session in December, based on the estimated rate of growth in Texans’ personal income over the next two years. 

Not all spending is subject to the cap. However, paying down state debt is. So is cutting property taxes, because it would require lawmakers approving extra state spending to make up for the loss to public schools.

Patrick proposes an amendment to eviscerate the cap so that an expected $4-5 billion surplus over the cap can be returned back to taxpayers.  Rather than simply vote to do so, Patrick has proposed a constitutional amendment to exempt tax relief and debt payments from the spending cap.  Sound complicated?  The Tea Partiers don’t want to be on record as voting to bust the spending cap for whatever reason – so they are attempting to pass the buck to the voters.

Why not keep the $4-5 billion in the state treasury as a bulwark against what appear to be rockier roads ahead.  That would make too much sense and not allow Patrick to pander to his Tea Party roots.