This is good news.

When he recently handed out assignments for Texas House members to pursue until the 2011 session begins, House Speaker Joe Straus gave the Ways and Means Committee a big priority: Monitor the business tax that supplies money for schools, and review the exemptions some businesses enjoy from various state taxes.

That was code for saying the next Legislature is headed into trouble financially, and the Republican speaker wants ways to deal with the problem before the session starts.

Austin is staring at a serious budget hole, partly because the school finance solution from 2006 is not supplying sufficient dollars. The business school tax is not raising enough money to offset the local property tax cuts that were part of the fix.

There are several ways to get out of our hole, which could reach $8 billion to $10 billion. One is that we luck out and the economy roars back. Another is that we control spending. Neither will supply enough cash, but we hope they provide some relief.

More likely, legislators will need to tinker with the business school tax. That could mean a one-time hike, matched with spending cuts.

The answer also could mean ending the exemptions some businesses receive from taxes. A firestorm would ensue, but we admire Straus for putting the idea on the table. He's showing guts.

Now, the Ways and Means Committee should show its own courage and not back down from tough answers. It won't be easy getting out of this hole.

Here's this newspaper's take on Straus' handling of other interim assignments:

Good moves

• Judiciary – Coming off a Supreme Court decision on judicial bias invited by political contributions, Straus ordered a badly needed review of how Texas court races are financed.

• Higher education – Texas' "Closing the Gaps" blueprint aims to graduate more students from college and close achievement gaps between demographic groups. Straus wants to focus on how the state is doing. Good.

• Public education – The speaker puts proper focus on finding ways to improve failing schools and boost education in the math, science and technical areas.

• Health care – Medicaid costs are gobbling a huge chunk of the state budget, and Straus wisely wants to explore cost-saving measures.

Falling short

• Water – Another blind spot. The state has to find a reliable way to pay for future water sources, but that is not adequately addressed in the Straus charges.

• Criminal justice – Texas leads the nation in DNA exonerations, but the speaker's agenda reflects no interest in shoring up weaknesses in the justice system.READ all of House Speaker Joe Straus' interim charges. www.house.state.tx.us/