Texas legislature approves $338B state budget for next two years

Yahoo

2 days ago

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Legislature has come to an agreement on the $338 billion budget that will fund state agencies and priorities over the next two fiscal years, including billions in property tax relief, billions in additional dollars for public schools and a new education savings account, and additional dollars for childcare.
By law, the appropriations bill is the only piece of legislation the legislature must pass when they convene every two years. State Rep. Greg Bonnen, R – Friendswood — the chair of the House Appropriations Committee — laid out the final version of the bill on the House floor.
'This is a very responsible balanced budget that falls within all of our constitutional and statutory spending limits, and it meets the needs of our rapidly growing state,' Bonnen said.
Bonnen laid out just some of the highlights of the bill. The budget addresses the workload on the Department of Public Safety as the state continues to grow by allocating $319 million to add an additional 467 new state troopers along with another $102 million to improve drivers license services.
Lawmakers also approved a $10.4 billion investment in behavioral health services, including dollars for research and prevention of mental health disorders. More than $2 billion will go toward increasing the wages of personal care attendants from $10.60 an hour to $13 an hour.
There is also money to help with a gap in healthcare in the state's rural areas. About $100 million will be added to the state's rural hospital grant program to help keep hospitals in these areas funded and open as many are closing their doors.
The appropriations bill also includes $51 billion of property tax relief. That includes a measure — pending approval from voters in November — that will increase the homestead exemption for homeowners from $100,000 to $140,000. Supporters said it will save the average homeowner $500 annually.
The final version of the budget increases the Foundation School Program by more than $13 billion to a total of $75.1 billion in all funds. The FSP is the primary source of state funding for public schools.
In terms of education, the bill provides for the additional $8.5 billion of new funding for public schools and $1 billion for the state's newly adopted education savings account program, which will allow families to apply for state dollars to be used toward paying for private education.
State Rep. Donna Howard, D – Austin, supports the appropriations bill but did mention that the new dollars for public funding still fall short of what schools need to catch back up with the costs of inflation and the lack of new state funding in previous sessions.
'Though it's not enough to get schools back to where they were in 2019, it's far better than current law or what the House and Senate were proposing back in January,' Howard said.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick praised the budget and the work of Senate Finance Chair Joan Huffman. Patrick issued a statement after the Senate passed the legislation, noting investments in the electrical grid and water infrastructure that he said keep the state on 'a path to sustainable growth.'
Patrick also highlighted plans to boost dementia research. 'The budget funds the creation of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT), which will bring the best Dementia researchers and care providers to our state,' Patrick wrote.
Voters will decide in November whether to establish DPRIT and transfer $3 billion to the Dementia Prevention & Research Fund from state general revenue to provide funding over the next 10 years.
The appropriations bill will now head to the State Comptroller for certification. The comptroller will confirm that the spending bill does not exceed the amount of revenue available. After certification, the bill heads to the governor for approval. The governor does have the power to line-item veto specific appropriations in the bill. Once signed, the bill becomes law.
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