Mark Homer Talks Special Session

The Paris News has an article up concerning State Rep. Mark Homer (D-Paris) and State Sen. Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) and their views on some of the tax and revenue issues related to the coming special session. Here are some of Rep. Homer’s comments:

“A cap has to be in there to ensure there is not a loophole created to avoid paying the tax,” Homer said.

Both Eltife and Homer expressed concern about using a budget surplus to buy down a portion of the property tax.

Homer said budget surpluses are not “a sustainable revenue source.”

“I am very concerned about using a surplus to buy down property tax,” Homer continued. “It is not a good way of doing business.”

Both Homer and Eltife want an expanded special session call to include an across-the-board teacher pay increase and have told the governor so in writing.

Homer said he is concerned that “the governor’s charge to the Sharp commission was to swap out taxes with no new money.”

“I am optimistic in a growing economy you can expect the business tax to bring in additional money, but we are not assured of that,” Homer said.

“I see it as making it more difficult for some of my colleagues to be openly supportive of trying to finish the job of school finance reform,” Homer said. “I fully understand we do not need to discuss poisoned pill issues like vouchers that could bring the session crashing down, but we do need to address teacher pay increase and unfunded state mandates on our schools.”

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