A $27 billion fiscal abyss? Squeegeeing away every penny from the rainy day fund? Slashing the office supplies budgets for every last man, woman and intern working at the state Capitol?
Charging admission to the Alamo. Now, my friends, we officially have a state budget crisis.
Legislators, including San Antonio’s own Sen. Leticia Van de Putte have filed bills that would for the first time allow the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to collect a fee from visitors who want to come inside the state treasure, according to WFAA-TV in Dallas today.
Van de Putte told a reporter she would rather not charge anything, but the condition of the Alamo and the state of donations for its upkeep might make it necessary. The Democratic state senator said her bill would also require the Daughters of the Republic to operate more publicly and to submit to more oversight from the Texas Historical Commission.
Without surprise, the 106-year-old volunteer group issued a statement saying it was saddened by the bills and the prospect of charging admission. Alamo marketing director Tony Caridi said that while the Daughters would cooperate with Van de Putte and the commission, they would not step away from their custodian responsibility.
Charging admission to the Alamo. Now, my friends, we officially have a state budget crisis.
Legislators, including San Antonio’s own Sen. Leticia Van de Putte have filed bills that would for the first time allow the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to collect a fee from visitors who want to come inside the state treasure, according to WFAA-TV in Dallas today.
Van de Putte told a reporter she would rather not charge anything, but the condition of the Alamo and the state of donations for its upkeep might make it necessary. The Democratic state senator said her bill would also require the Daughters of the Republic to operate more publicly and to submit to more oversight from the Texas Historical Commission.
Without surprise, the 106-year-old volunteer group issued a statement saying it was saddened by the bills and the prospect of charging admission. Alamo marketing director Tony Caridi said that while the Daughters would cooperate with Van de Putte and the commission, they would not step away from their custodian responsibility.
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Contact Mark Lisheron at 512-299-2318 or mark@texaswatchdog.org.
Keep up with all the latest news from Texas Watchdog. Fan our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Scribd, and fan us on YouTube. Join our network on de.licio.us, and put our RSS feeds in your newsreader. We're also on MySpace, Digg, FriendFeed, NewsVine and tumblr.
Photo of the Alamo by flickr user johnkoetsier, used via a Creative Commons license.
Contact Mark Lisheron at 512-299-2318 or mark@texaswatchdog.org.
Keep up with all the latest news from Texas Watchdog. Fan our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Scribd, and fan us on YouTube. Join our network on de.licio.us, and put our RSS feeds in your newsreader. We're also on MySpace, Digg, FriendFeed, NewsVine and tumblr.
Photo of the Alamo by flickr user johnkoetsier, used via a Creative Commons license.
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