by JENNIFER BIUNDO
On Tuesday, Jan. 11, as the clock strikes noon, the members of the 82nd Texas Legislature will convene under the Capitol Dome to take their oaths of office.
Among them will be freshman Jason Isaac, the Dripping Springs businessman who defeated four-term incumbent Patrick Rose in the battle for the District 45 seat representing Hays, Blanco and Caldwell counties.
Isaac, a Republican, credits hard work – as well as a local and national tidal wave of GOP sentiment – in giving him the edge to knock out a well-known and well-funded incumbent. But as he prepares to step into his hard-won office, the real work is just beginning.
A newcomer to politics, Isaac has been getting a crash course in local governance.
“It’s like getting fed by a fire hose,” Isaac said. “It’s been overwhelming. A lot of fun, but overwhelming.”
The coming session promises to be challenging. Texas faces a budget shortfall that could exceed $25 billion, representing nearly one-third of the state’s $80.6 billion in discretionary funds. While the budget crisis will dominate nearly every discussion in the legislature, lawmakers must also approve a decennial redistricting bill, pass 28 agency sunset reviews, and, before the close of the first day, elect a Speaker of the House in an already-contentious race.
Isaac said he’s currently putting his staff together and undergoing orientations, and recently hired a chief of staff and district director. Several Republican incumbents, including Phil King, Doug Miller and Tim Kleinschmidt have taken the new representative under their wing.
“I’ve spoken to several members within the House, and they’ve just been fantastic,” Isaac said. “I feel like I’m going to walk into the House and have a ton of mentors.”
Isaac said he would establish an office in Kyle or San Marcos this summer after the legislature recesses, but will not maintain a district office during the session, as a way to cut spending.
“Right off the bat we took 10 percent off the top of our budget,” Isaac said. “If we’re going to ask state agencies to do that, we need to set the example.”
Budget cuts will be a common theme this year, most legislators agree. But simply cutting state agencies without raising taxes won’t fill the chasm in the two-year budget.
About $100 billion of the state’s biennial budget comes from restricted federal funds. Of the state’s $80.6 billion in discretionary funds, $35.2 billion is used for public education, $13.7 billion goes to higher education and $24.4 billion goes to health and human services. The remaining $7.3 billion covers all other state services, including the governor’s office, prisons, parks and transportation.
Some conservative lawmakers, including Governor Rick Perry, have even raised the option of dropping out of the Medicaid Program, which pays for seven out of 10 nursing home residents and more than half of the births in Texas. Currently, the federal government foots 60 percent of the state’s $45 billion biennial Medicaid budget.
Isaac said he was willing to look at all cuts.
“Really, at this point in time, nothing is off the table,” Isaac said. “We have got to look at everything. I believe our government can trim this shortfall. I know there’s going to have to be some tough cuts and unfortunately nothing can be left off the table.”
Isaac said he believed the state could fill the shortfall by cutting spending, without raising any fees or taxes, without approving casino gambling, and without raiding the $7 billion Rainy Day Fund.
“People think that’s naïve, but I really believe we can cut the budget shortfall without using the Rainy Day Fund,” Isaac said. “Instead, we can use the Rainy Day Fund to provide incentives to businesses for providing health insurance to their employees and also provide relief to property tax payers. I think if you do those couple of things you’re really going to spur the economy of the state of Texas.”
Another issue likely to prove contentious is the race for Speaker of the House.
Though the Texas governorship and most state offices have been held by Republicans since 1994, and the Texas House has seen a GOP majority since 2002, this November’s elections brought a 99-51 Republican lead in the House, just one vote shy of a powerful supermajority.
Current Speaker, Joe Straus, widely considered to be a moderate, is facing a heated challenge from Reps. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney) and Warren Chisum (R-Pampa), both of whom argue that Straus isn’t conservative enough to lead the near-supermajority of Republicans.
Isaac said he has not publicly pledged his support in the race for Speaker of the House.
“I don’t have a position on that at this time, and I’m not leaning one way or another,” Isaac said. “All my attention right now is making sure we’ve got the best staff put together possible and just getting up to speed on the issues.”
The GOP majority will also drive a redistricting bill incorporating the population growth of the 2010 census. Unlike the 2003 redistricting that saw Democrats flee the state to break quorum, Republicans will likely be able to pass most redistricting maps that don’t violate federal laws regarding minority voting rights.
“It sounds like we are going to have three or four new representatives going to D.C. to represent us, which is good,” Isaac said. “We do need to make sure that they are representative of Texas, and that we send some good conservatives to D.C., preferably people who want to help us get a balanced budget passed.”
Isaac said he’s unsure if he would support an “Arizona-style” immigration bill, but said he would be in favor of actions to overturn the recent federal health care overhaul requiring most Americans to carry health insurance.
“I certainly believe that’s an unfunded federal mandate and an intrusion on our tenth amendment rights,” Isaac said.
Though he has no specific plans to author legislation, Isaac said he would like to find ways to fund water districts without relying on property taxes, and to explore the option of getting electric providers to cut a discount on utilities for school districts.
“I know Texas State University and other state-funded higher education institutes receive discounts on their utilities,” Isaac said. “I’d like to see if we couldn’t get that extended into some or all of the school districts. It would be nice if we could get our neighbors together and see if we can’t help out some of the schools.”
