Texans just got their first peek at what a reduced budget could look like in 2018 and 2019.
Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, filed SB 1 Tuesday and unveiled the first draft of the Senate budget while Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, released a statement indicating what the House's version would focus on.
Senate budget proposals
The Senate's initial draft of the budget adds $2.65 billion to account for student enrollment growth, which Nelson projects at exceeding 160,000 students over the next two years.
In addition, Nelson’s bill allots $32 million for pre-kindergarten programs, increases funds directed toward mental health services by $63 million and maintains the current border security funding at $800 million.
Child Protective Services will also be awarded an additional $260 million after some issues unveiled the need for additional funding.
But overall, Nelson cited rising health care costs via Medicaid and the Teacher Retirement System as reasons why the budget will be tight this year.
The bill calls for a statewide cut of 1.5 percent, with a singular exception of the Foundation School Program, which funds public education. That budget would remain intact.
Nelson said hearings in the Senate Finance Committee will begin Monday.
House budget proposals
Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, also released information today indicating what the House version of the budget will look like.
In the statement, Straus indicated an additional $1.5 billion would be going to public education, but only if the legislature reduced the reliance on recapture funds and moved to improve equity in the school finance system.
In addition, the House's version of the budget would award a similar amount to Child Protective Services as the Senate's version. The House set their additional allotment at $268 million.
Straus has emphasized mental health as part of his legislative priorities and continued to do so within his budget proposal, choosing to award an additional $162 million to fund behavioral health services.
The big surprise comes from the total funds appropriated by the House, which total $108.9 billion, roughly $4 billion more than Comptroller Glenn Hegar's revenue estimate, which was delivered Jan. 9.
If the House version of the budget is approved, that would likely cause the legislature to dip into the Economic Stabilization Fund, which has not been tapped into for years. The balance currently sits at about $10 billion.
Key differences
- The Senate's version appropriates $103.6 billion total, while the House's budget appropriates $108.9 billion. The Senate leaves room in its budget, coming in below the $104.89 figure included in Hegar's Biennial Revenue Estimate. The House version would require the state to tap into the rainy day fund.
- SB 1 includes cuts of roughly 1.5 percent across the board, excluding public education. The House's budget would cut less than 1 percent.
