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Monday, May 23, 2011

Texas Limits Tax-Breaks for Abortion Coverage

AUSTIN — Acting at the request of Comptroller Susan Combs, Rep. Jim Landtroop, R-Plainview, added to a crucial budgetary bill an amendment prohibiting employers from claiming health coverage for elective abortions as an exemption from the state's franchise tax.

The amendment was attached after 1 a.m. on Saturday to a "fiscal matters" bill crucial to the state's budget, prompting grumbling that Combs was using an essential piece of legislation to shore up her political profile. Combs has faced intense negative publicity since her office announced last month that it had inadvertently exposed the personal information of 3 million Texans on an Internet server accessible to the public.

But Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, defended Combs' use of the bill to get policy enacted, noting that over 200 amendments had been offered. Because the bill has a broad "caption" — or title — a variety of issues are eligible to be added to it, he noted.

"There were 200 amendments. You could ask questions about the appropriateness of all of them," he said. The fiscal matters bill "becomes a vehicle (for other proposals) because everything is germane."

Under current law, employers can deduct the cost of hiring employees, including their health care costs, from the state's franchise tax.

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The graphic is illustrative of the post, not a statement of editorial policy or opinion. – Ed.

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