Grusendorf's Aces-In-The-Hole

Rep. Kent Grusendorf chairman of the House Public Education Committee said this yesterday:

Longtime state Rep. Kent Grusendorf, locked in a Republican primary battle with Diane Patrick, said Thursday that he will resign his District 94 seat if the Legislature does not "pass legislation to fix school finance this spring."

This from Just Another Blog, Grusendorf's Ultimatum:

What happens if the call for the special session is only for tax reform, and they leave education reform for 2007? Can we still get Diane Patrick over Grusendorf? What a bold statement to make in a close primary fight. It might not even matter on March 7th.

This too from the TFT Hotline:

Speculation about what the legislature will do in the anticipated session is all over the map. A view gaining increasing currency is that lawmakers will shy away from a major tax overhaul. Under this theory, they would instead tap into the modest surplus of four or five billion dollars in the state treasury, use the money to replace a portion of local property taxes, and give districts the ability to raise local tax rates a few pennies for the coming year. That way they would hope to meet the court'’s mandate and get out of town until the next regular session starts in January, having cut property taxes without raising new taxes that could make major business interests angry before the November elections. It'’s a plausible scenario, but it's sheer guesswork at this point.

Is there really a surplus? Here's what the CPPP has to say, Texas Has No Surplus! As you can see Rep. Grusedorf promsed to resign if they don't fix school finance in the spring. Is he off the hook if the only thing in the call is a tax shift? And what if they "fix" it but only with the "surplus" money and have to "re-fix" it next year? "Got something up your sleeve Rep. Grusendorf?"