January 9th, 2011 – by Glen Farmer

According to recent reports, more than half of Texas’ voters have urged lawmakers to spare budget cuts to public education and health care programs. In place of the budget cuts, voters have stated that they support gambling in the state.

A poll by the Austin American-Statesman, as well as other news papers, found that most voters would support an expansion of legal gambling in the state. The poll found that they do not wish class size limits in elementary schools to be adjusted, nor to they want guns on university campuses.

Legislators in the state are having to contend with an enormous budget shortfall – $24 billion, which compares to the $3 million gap in Florida – that has been fueled by the economic recession plaguing the United States. Tax cuts have also helped Texas fall short on their budget.

Gambling expansion in the state of Texas has long been discussed, brought up every few years in the state’s Legislature. As of now, gambling expansion has not proven successful in the state of Texas.