Battle Over Budget Caps Looms in Texas
After the Legislature cut billions of dollars from the state budget in 2011, some hoped to see at least some of the funding restored in 2013. But with the next legislative session quickly approaching, others are pushing to limit that spending.
By law, Texas lawmakers can’t increase state spending by more than the rate of personal income growth, which is set before each legislative session by the Legislative Budget Board. The board recently set that rate at 10.7 percent, or about $7.5 billion more than the present budget.
But immediately, Republicans on the budget board, led by ...
Comments (2)
Jim Baxa
Lawmakers did NOT cut the budget in 2011. They just slowed the rate of the growth of govt. That is NOT a cut, it is a smaller increase than liberals wanted. The proposed budget cap is needed, and the argument that it would decrease spending in a recession is not warranted, as in a recession we have less money available to pay in taxes. Only liberals want to continue to increase govt spending by 10.7% each year (or even by 9% each year).
Stuart Greenfield
Actual all funds appropriations for the current biennium are 4.8 percent less than the previous biennium. See, http://www.texasfiscal.info/articles/The%20New%20Fiscal%20Year.docx .