ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

This Policy Page discusses the problem of inadequate funding for the Choices program and reports on the welfare and workforce bills enacted during the 77th Legislative Session.

The 77th Texas Legislature passed several child care bills this session. However, the big stories remain the continued underfunding of child care for working poor families within the state budget and looming growth in the state's waiting list of 41,000 children.

With House-Senate state budget conferees about ready to wrap up work on Senate Bill 1, the Appropriations Act for 2002-03, final funding for child care will soon be known. This Policy Page explains why more state and federal funds for child care are needed to continue serving working poor families, and provides links to proposed legislation that would affect child care in Texas.

This Policy Page describes how the House and Senate propose to increase economic development program spending in 2002 and 2003 and discusses legislation that would improve the state's funding of development programs by creating an integrated economic development budget.

While the 1990s brought a period of sustained growth for the Texas economy, not all Texans enjoyed equally in the benefits of this growth. Texas saw a growing gap in the incomes of its residents during the 1990s. Generally, while upper-middle and upper-income Texans experienced an increase in the real value of their incomes, middle and low-income Texans saw their real incomes stagnate.

Two popular myths endure about Texas' poor. One is that most poor people don't work and don't want to work. The second is that work will raise these families out of poverty. Research conducted by the Center for Public Policy Priorities shows that these myths do not correspond with reality. Of the 3 million poor Texans, about 2 million have at least one working adult in their household. Moreover, the problem of poverty despite work is greater in Texas than in most other states. Bills to raise the state minimum wage or to require government contractors to pay a living wage offer one set of solutions to this problem.