With no opposition, the Texas House passed its first supplemental appropriations bill (they expect one or two more) and sent it along to the Senate. It would spend $4.8 billion in general revenue (state funds) and pull down another $6.6 billion in federal funds. What might have become a debate over 2011's budget cuts was instead a yes-fest, with representatives pulling down all of their proposed amendments and then suspending the constitutional rules to send the legislation forward. This bill covers the cost of the current Medicaid system for the rest of the current budget cycle. To come: Another supplemental for wildfires, prison health care, and probably, a number of amendments that weren't added to this first bill.