TribBlog: Scrounging for Cash

The Legislative Budget Board has begun distributing (to legislators — not to the public) its recommendations for how to save money and raise money to help balance the 2012-13 state budget. They plan to distribute copies of the budget itself (again, to lawmakers only) later tonight, and all of the documents will be available online to the public tomorrow morning. The details are still coming in, but here are some of the headlines from the LBB's Government Effectiveness and Efficiency Recommendations.

• Repeal ban on Sunday liquor sales
• Expand Medicaid managed care to south Texas
• Reform health payment and delivery system
• Increase telemedicine in Texas Medicaid
• Allow advanced practice nurses to prescribe
• Regulate urgent care centers in Texas
• Decrease number of state supported living centers
• Reduce prison population by reducing parole process delays
• Improve re-entry for adult and juvenile sex offenders
• Add a fuel inefficiency surcharge on certain new vehicles
• Ban the use of wireless communication devices while driving
• Operate a state health insurance exchange
• End the use of GR funds to pay for insurance company examinations
• Strengthen financial oversight of community colleges
• Strengthen the regulation of food-related industries
• Reduce the state's contribution for employee health insurance
• Implement a tobacco user surcharge on ERS health premiums
• Require state retirees to pay a greater share of their health insurance
• Reduce GR loss from sales tax discounts
• Phase out economic development tax refunds
• Tie the August state sales tax holiday to budget conditions