While there is a lot of opposition to the county’s plans to raise the tax rate by 6 cents to trigger $150 million from the state to expand and rebuild the University of Texas Medical Branch, state Rep. Larry Taylor warned that without the local money, getting state money for the medical branch in the future would be a tough sell in Austin.
County commissioners are scheduled to vote on the tax rate increase Wednesday.
The Texas Legislature is requiring Galveston County to fund specialist and hospital care for the county’s uninsured at higher levels if the $150 million is to be made available to build a new hospital tower.
Most of the commissioners are backing the tax rate increase instead of creating a hospital district, in large part because they fear the hospital district, which would require a countywide vote, would fail at the ballot box. A tax rate hike requires only a majority vote by the commissioners.
Many county residents, including League City Mayor Toni Randall, have argued that the county should hold off on the tax rate increase and go back to the state for another solution. Others have argued in public sessions, online forums and letters to the editor that the county should call the state’s bluff and put the issue back in the hands of the Legislature.
Taylor, R-Friendswood, the chairman of the Republican Caucus of the Texas House of Representatives, warned such a move would make matters worse in the eyes of his colleagues in Austin.
“It’s a bad option,” Taylor said. “It would delay the progress and hurt us from going back and making arguments for a better funding mechanism.”
County Commissioner Ken Clark, whose precinct includes much of the same area that Taylor represents, is opposed to the tax increase and last week voted against the plan in which the county agreed to increase its coverage of medical care for the uninsured county residents. Clark argued he wants to give the voters a chance to give the funding an up-or-down vote, an option that does not legally exist on the tax rate increase proposal.
Clark expressed the views of many who are frustrated the state’s money came with strings attached and said the county was unaware or didn’t communicate well enough about those provisions during the summer.
Taylor said he has heard all the same arguments against pushing for the tax rate increase or even the earlier option of creating a hospital district.
“This was all finalized in the last hours of the session,” he said. “We had to pass something, and this is what had the support. To me, it’s timely. Right now, we have the sympathy of the Legislature because of what we went through with Ike. Two years from now we won’t have that.”
Taylor argued the tax rate increase should be looked at as the initial, yet vital, step to the medical branch’s recovery. He agrees the burden of increasing hospital care to 100 percent of federal poverty level should not be Galveston County’s alone to shoulder.
“We have a lot of good arguments,” he said. “All the options should be on the table; having other counties who use UTMB pick up more of the tab is one.”
Taylor said he thinks creating a special regional hospital district to include other counties is one of the options worth exploring. He said the possibility of using a sales tax increase would be worthy of discussion.
Those are options to be explored after the county takes the first step, he said. Without the county meeting the state’s demands, Taylor warned the good will given to the county with what legislation was passed and money made available likely would vanish.
“The other state representatives will say, ‘We were going to give you all this money, and you said no,’” Taylor said.
Whatever position he or Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, who was speaker pro tem last session, holds in leadership won’t matter two years down the road when the Legislature meets again.
“Are we going to sit around and do nothing for two years?” Taylor asked. “I don’t think that is a good option.”
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At a glance
WHAT: County commissioners meeting
WHEN: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday
WHERE: County Courthouse, 722 Moody in Galveston
ON THE AGENDA: Increase county tax rate to increase funding of indigent specialist and hospital care
