http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3301860 Poor in Texas to see higher power bills Starting Sept. 1, money collected for low-income aid will be diverted into general fund By POLLY ROSS HUGHES Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau • When: The poor lose their 10 percent electric discount on Sept. 1 • How many: There are 391,000 low-income Texans, 115,000 in Houston/Galveston • How much: $13 to $17 on average per month, $150 to $200 per year • Who pay s: The average ratepayer pays 65 cents per month to cover the discounts Sources: Public Utility Commission and Consumers Union AUSTIN - Low-income households will soon pay 10 percent more for electricity because budget writers raided a discount program for the poor to help balance the state budget. Monday the Texas Public Utility Commission began sending out 391,000 letters to low-income Texans, including the elderly and disabled, telling them the days of discounts are over. "The electric low-income discount program, also called LITE-UP Texas, has been discontinued due to lack of funding. Your electric bill discounts will end after your August bill," the letter said. Roughly 115,000 households in the greater Houston-Galveston area will lose the discount, up to about $17 monthly or about $200 a year. "There's going to be rate shock next month when low-income Texans open their electricity bills," said Tim Morstad of Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. "There is a real concern that eliminating this discount during the peak of the summer could put people in danger of excessive heat," he said. The discount program funded by ratepayers began in 2002 as a key part of the legislative compromise that led to deregulation of the electric utility industry in about 75 percent of the state, including Houston. In 2003, the discount was raised to 17 percent, peaking at about $50 million for greater Houston area households, said Randy Chapman, a lawyer at the Texas Legal Services Center. Two years ago, lawmakers cut the discount back to 10 percent before eliminating it entirely for the two-year budget cycle beginning Sept. 1. The dedicated trust fund will continue to collect an average 65-cent fee from electric ratepayers based on average use of 1,000 kilowatt hours per month. Consumers Union estimates the fee raises $200 million annually, making it a tempting pot of money for lawmakers when writing their two-year budget. "There was concern that low-income customers wouldn't realize the benefits of deregulation right away. This promise was made to do the (discount) deal. The promise has been broken," Morstad said. The timing is poor not only because of dangerous heat but also because Morstad estimates deregulated electric rates have spiked as much as 35 percent. "Electric rates right now are high," he said. "It says something about the legislators and their willingness to balance the budget on the backs of low-income residents." Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said he considers criticism that lawmakers are taking from the poor a "loaded" statement. It is true, however, that lawmakers are essentially collecting money for one thing and using it for another, he said. "It's a bad practice over here. It exists because so far the Legislature has lacked the will to reform the tax code and continues in that mode even today," he said. Ogden said the money collected for low-income electric assistance, along with money meant for trauma care centers, is helping to fund the growing Medicaid health insurance program for the disabled, aged and indigent. Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said the net effect of shifting specific fees into the general revenue pool is a hidden tax. "We've had so much talk this session about truth in taxation. This goes totally against the grain for integrity. The people who are affected most are the low-income people." Turner said the PUC's letters are misleading because there is not actually a "lack of funding" for the electric discounts. The money was simply redirected to other things. The PUC did not change the letters, as he requested. The letters were already printed, and it would have cost taxpayers between $10,000 and $15,000 to reprint them, said PUC spokeswoman Theresa Gage. polly.hughes@chron.com One more reason the Texas Legislature blows... "Yes, I've got an idea. Let's discontinue a program to help low-income Texans pay their electric bills during the hottest months of the year."
I saw this earlier, but the board was down so I couldn't post it. Par for the course for the GOP. It is not like they are concerned about people who can't afford electricity. Tax breaks for corporations are far more important to them.
Actually, I think the money is being diverted to finance schools. Tax breaks for corporations are often used to improve the tax base used to support schools.
So where did the tax breaks come from? Could that money have been used to finance schools instead of providing corporate welfare? If that had been the case, these funds would not have had to be "diverted."
Just when you thought you'd seen the nadir of Texas state government, as practiced by the Republican Party that is in power, not state employees, who fight the good fight, in the main, you run across something like this. It is sickening. We are already ranked at or near the bottom, in the entire country, in state services for the elderly, the disabled, the disadvantaged, and children, yet we let this happen. I'm beyond feeling bad about it. I'm past feeling angry. I'm ***damned mad at the voters of this state, who don't bother to take the time to find out just how badly their "great" state is being run, and don't bother to vote. Texans should be ashamed. Keep D&D Civil!!
How is it that politicians attain office by trumpeting their religion, spend their time in office acting contrary to all the principles of their religion, then get re-elected by trumpeting their religion? I think someone isn't paying attention.
