From the Chron:
Texans could find themselves digging deeper for traffic fines, child-support payments processed by the state attorney general’s office and millions of dollars in other fees under the no-new-taxes budget proposal released by House leaders this week.
According to Legislative Budget Board figures, revenue increases from fees in the starting-point budget draft total some $131 million. That includes proposals such as the raising the state traffic fine from $30 to $45, which would require separate legislation.
That total does not include every potential new out-of-pocket expense in the two-year budget draft, such as a proposed $30 monthly health-insurance surcharge for state government employees and retirees who use tobacco.
The budget measure, which is a starting point for discussion, includes only a slim part of a $1.2 billion menu of savings and money-raising options prepared by the Legislative Budget Board under the heading of "government effectiveness and efficiency," in case lawmakers find the bare-bones approach indigestible.
