AUSTIN, Texas, May 30 (UPI) -- A bill meant to balance Texas' 2012-13 budget by cutting education spending was derailed by a Democratic filibuster as the end of the legislative session nears.
State Sen. Wendy Davis, a Fort Worth Democrat, took the floor about 10:43 p.m. Sunday and talked past the midnight deadline so Senate Bill 1811, which included $4 billion in state education aid cuts, would die, the Austin American-Statesman reported Monday.
"It's not that we don't have solutions, it's that we don't choose to use those solutions," Davis said. "We are failing our school children. We are failing our educators. We can do better."
The failure of the key budget measure will likely force Gov. Rick Perry to hold lawmakers for a special session that could begin as early as Tuesday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
In her filibuster, Davis denounced the bill, saying it would be the first time in the state's history Texas failed to fund student population growth.
