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State wants contempt order lifted, but plaintiffs want sanctions in landmark school-funding case

It’s judgment time for the state Legislature, which crunched out a two-year budget this spring under the threat of punishment from the Supreme Court. Last fall, the court found lawmakers in contempt for not moving fast enough to fix school funding, but the justices postponed deciding whether to order sanctions until the end of the this year’s session.

Arguments to the court were due Monday on whether the Legislature did enough when it passed the 2015-2017 budget.

The state gave an unequivocal yes. Attorney General Robert Ferguson, in fact, asked the court to dissolve the contempt order, arguing that that lawmakers have met all the court’s deadlines.