THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS Monday, January 16, 1989 YES, BONDS Prisons should be built without hiking taxes Gov. Bill Clements wants to build prisons with 11,000 beds, and pay for them by issuing $350 million in bonds. Several senators; wav- ing the flag of fiscal conservatism, are skep- tical. They correctly assert that servicing the debt on the bonds will mean that Texans ultimately will pay much more for those prisons than they would by just using tax dollars up front to do the entire job. The governor also has suggested that a much-needed renovation of the state Capitol be financed with bonds. Again, senators have expressed reservations. Still, the governor is right, debt financing is the way to build the prisons, although it will cost more. Paying the full cost with one check from one biennium's tax take will force tax increases that will remain in place long after the prisons are up and operating. Financing with bonds is one way to make certain that the money goes to prisons, and nothing else. Texas counties and cities always have used bonds to construct jails and other pub- lic projects. It is true that the state does not bond highways, while local governments bond roads, but there is a difference. State highways have a dedicated source of tax rev- enue and large volumes of federal money. More, it is too easy to allow the line between maintenance and construction to blur. That will not occur with prisons. There are legitimate areas, education for one, where expanded state spending may de- mand higher taxes. But prison building is not one. Gov. Clements' plan should get an "aye" vote.
