AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants a special legislative committee to examine a non-partisan state budget board after its director questioned Gov. Greg Abbott’s line-item vetoes.
Patrick, a tea party favorite who oversees the Texas Senate, said Wednesday he’s “extremely disappointed” in the Legislative Budget Board.
He recommended forming a joint House-Senate committee to examine how it and all other state agencies operate to determine “what reforms are needed.”
Patrick’s statement follows budget board director Ursula Parks writing that Abbott’s line-item vetoes slicing $233 million from the new state budget were “unprecedented.” (Read the story here.)
Parks even supported her case using opinions Abbott issued as Texas attorney general, a post he held before becoming governor in January.
Abbott spokesman John Wittman has slammed the budget board as “unelected bureaucrats” making a power grab.