Texas state budget

From Sunshine Review

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The Texas state budget is implemented for two year durations by the Legislative Budget Board. Agencies develop their appropriations requests in the first year, the legislature approves the General Appropriations Act in the second year, and the budget is implemented over the next two years.^[1] By constitutional mandate, Texas operates under budgets set for two-year periods.^[2] As of February, 2009, almost $110 billion has been spent with nearly seven months left to go in the fiscal year.^[3]

Typically, the Texas Governor is in charge of the state's budget and framework.

Contents 1 Economy at a glance 2 Budget status 2008-2009 3 Budget Background 3.1 Budget Figures, 2000-2009 3.1.1 Breakdown of Sources of Revenue 3.1.2 Breakdown of spending by area 4 Proposed budget for 2010-2011 5 Budget transparency 5.1 Economic Stimulus Transparency 5.2 Support for creation of the database 5.3 Independent transparency sites 6 Public employee salary information 7 See Also 8 External links 9 References 10 Additional reading

[edit] Economy at a glance

• 1.2 million jobs were created in Texas in the last five years.^[4]
• From November 2007 to November 2008, 71% of jobs created in the US were created in Texas.^[5]
• In December, 2008, Texas's unemployment rate was 6%.^[6]
• Texas lost 25,700 jobs in December of 2008.^[7]
• Home sales in Texas have decreased by 16%.^[8]
• Despite the drop in housing prices, foreclosures remain relatively low. Only 1 in 9,495 homes was foreclosed upon in Texas in December of 2008 compared to 1 in 71 in Nevada and 1 in 147 in California.^[9]
• In 2008, Texas experienced an increase in tax revenue due to rising oil prices.^[10]The price for crude has dropped 53% from where it was last year.^[11]

[edit] Budget status 2008-2009

As of February 5, 2009, Texas is one of only six states not facing a budget deficit.^[12] Texas expects to take in $77.1 billion in state revenues in 2009.^[13] This is a 10.5% decrease in revenue from 2008, most notably due to a slowdown in the Texas economy and reduced tax receipts.^[14]

The total budget for the 2008 and 2009 biennium is almost $168 billion. In addition, Texas currently holds about $6.7 billion in a “Rainy Day Fund”.^[15] The Rainy Day Fund was established in 1987 following an economic downturn; three fourths of any oil and gas revenue that is above the 1987 level of such revenue is transferred into the Rainy Day Fund.^[16] The fund is expected to reach $9.1 billion by the end of the 2011.^[17]

The Texas economy “continues to fare better than most other states” according to State Comptroller Susan Combs.^[18] However, "the state is not imune to economic forces wreaking havoc in other sections of the country."^[19] In 2008, Texas’s gross state product grew by 4.2% while the national economy’s GDP grew by only 1.9%.^[18] However, in her Biennial Revenue Estimate for the 2010-2011 fiscal term, Comptroller Combs predicted that Texas employment will decline until the fourth quarter of 2009 and warned that 2009 and the beginning of 2010 will be underperform.^[20]

In his State of the State Address for the 2008-9 budget term, Governor Rick Perry, pointed to the strength of Texas’s economy noting that Texas added 1.2 million new jobs in the last five years, that 70% of new jobs created in the United States from November 2007 to November 2008 were created in Texas, and that despite facing a $10 billion deficit in 2002, Texas is operating with a surplus without having raised taxes on its citizens.^[21]

However, on February 3, 2009, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus signaled the need to reduce stated spending by $500 million by the end of the fiscal year citing “uncertain economic conditions” and the need to leave a “reasonable reserve in the rainy day fund” to avoid facing a deficit in 2011.^[22] Anticipated incoming revenues included in the $80.1 billion budget for the year included federal funds, which the state has not yet received and could depend on the outcome of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act being currently debated in Congress.^[23] The 2008-9 budget was also burdened by $2 billion in expenses related to hurricanes Ike, Dolly and Gustav.^[24] The federal government is expected to reimburse the state for 75% of its costs related to the hurricane, but Governor Perry is seeking an 100% reimbursement.^[25]

[edit] Budget Background

Texas's fiscal year runs from September 1st to the following August 31st of an odd-numbered year (for example, September 1, 2008 - August 31, 2009.^[26] Since 1978, the state constitution has required the State Comptroller to create an itemized estimate of the incoming revenue that will be available to the state for spending in the upcoming two-year fiscal period (biennium).^[27] This estimate is submitted to the Governor and the legislature and is used as a baseline to ensure that appropriations do not exceed incomng revenue.^[28] Once an appropriation bill is agreed on by both houses of the legislature, it is sent to the State Comptroller for certification that there will be sufficient incoming revenue to cover the bill's appropriations.^[29] If the Comptroller concludes that there is not enough money to cover the proposed spending, the bill is sent back to the legislature where any spending in excess of anticipated revenue must be approved by a 4/5 vote in each house.^[30] Once a bill is certified by the Comptroller, the bill is sent to the Governor for review and signature; the state constitution grants the Governor a line-item veto by which he can use to cancel out specific provisions without having to veto the bill in its entirty.^[31]

[edit] Budget Figures, 2000-2009

The following table provides a history for Texas's budget and actual expenditures from 2000 to 2009.

Biennium Term	Estimated/Budgeted	Amount Actually Spent
2000-2001	$101.8 billion[32][33]	$101.9 billion[34]
2002-2003	$114.1 billion[35]	$115.9 billion[36]
2004-2005	$118.2 billion[37]	$126.6 billion[38]
2006-2007	$138.2 billion[39]	$145.1 billion[40][41]
2008-2009	$167.8 billion[42][43]	n/a

[edit] Breakdown of Sources of Revenue

The following table breaks down the state budget by sources of revenue for the 2008-2009 term.^[44]

Source of Revenue	Percentage of Overall Revenue
Tax collections	52.1%
Federal income	31.1%
Miscellaneous	9.8%
Licenses, Fees & Fines	7.9%

[edit] Breakdown of spending by area

The following table breaks down the state budget by areas of spending for the 2008-2009 term.^[45]

Area of spending	Percentage of Overall Spending
Education	44.4%
Health & Human Services	31.6%
Business & Economic Development	12.2%
Public Safety & Criminal Justice	6.2%
General Government	2.4%
Natuaral Resources	1.9%

[edit] Proposed budget for 2010-2011

• To combat the economic downturn, Governor Perry has stressed that all tools that could continue growth should be considered, "including implementing additional sales tax holidays."^[46]
• Governor Perry's proposals for the 2010-2011 fiscal term included the following^[47]
  • $260 million for the Texas Enterprise Fund;
  • 203.5 million for the Emerging Technology Fund;
  • $60 million for the Texas Film Incentive Program ;
  • $60 million for the Skill Development Fund;
  • $97 million for the Texas High School Project;
  • 622.5 million in teachers incentive and reward programs;
  • 645.7 million related to higher education programs;
  • $110 million for the Texas Grant Program for financial aid;
  • $28 million for community college financial aid;
  • $168.9 million for higher education incentive funding;
  • $10 million for nursing education;
  • $10 million for health and fitness programs for middle and high school students;
  • $150 million for disaster and emergency appropriations; and
  • $135 million for border security.

[edit] Budget transparency

The Texas Window on State Government page provides a searchable expenditures function for Texans. Specifically, it provides information on how much each agency spends and which vendors receive state funds. The database is updated nightly, and is managed by the State Comptroller, Susan Combs.

The following table is helpful in evaluating the level of transparency provided by the Texas Window on State Government.

Criteria for evaluating spending databases

State Database	Searchability	Grants	Contracts	Line Item Expenditures	Dept/Agency Budgets	Public Employee Salary
Texas: Where the Money Goes

For further information, see

• Texas Window on State Government
• Collins County Check Register

[edit] Economic Stimulus Transparency

• The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 designated $787 billion to be spent throughout the U.S. Of that $787 billion stimulus package, it is estimated that 69%, or over $541 billion, will be administered by state governments.^[48]

• Texas will receive an estimated $11,362,889,088.^[49]

• The economic recovery website to show how legislators and government officials in Texas are spending Federal funds is available here.

[edit] Support for creation of the database

In addition to the original sponsors and cosponsors of Texas House Bill 3430 (2007), various individuals and organizations promoted the creation of a public expenditures database.

State Comptroller Susan Combs has been one of the strongest advocates of transparency. In her words,

"Government spending is often seen as impenetrable and unknowable. Taxpayers have the absolute right to know how their money is being spent, and it is only with transparency that government can be held truly accountable. We are helping citizens with an easy way to examine state expenditures in one place without needing to contact multiple agencies."^[50]

Andrew Moylan, Government Affairs Manager for the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), and David Williams, Vice President of Policy for the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, wrote a letter^[51] that encouraged Texas lawmakers to enact legislation that would create a publicly searchable expenditures database. Likewise, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) issued a press release^[52] to announce Texas House Bill 3430 (2007)'s unanimous passage through the House. Grover Norquist, President of ATR, wrote legislators in the Texas Senate, urging them to vote for Texas House Bill 3430 (2007),^[53] and an additional letter when the Texas Senate Finance Committee took the bill into consideration.^[54]

Following the bill's passage, the Texas Public Policy Foundation also made a transparency discussion available,^[55] and its Texas Budget Source has drawn lots of attention from various media sources.^[56][57]

Listen to Susan Combs talk about transparency by clicking here.

[edit] Independent transparency sites

The Texas Public Policy Foundation has created www.texasbudgetsource.com, an independent website focused on Texas's budget and transparency. In addition to state transparency information, it posts data about local and school district transparency.

[edit] Public employee salary information

The Houston Chronicle has complied this list of Houston public employee salaries in 2007, and News 4 has provided school superintendent salaries across the state for 2007-2008.

[edit] See Also

Texas taxpayer-funded lobbying

[edit] External links

• Texas Public Policy Foundation
  • Texas Budget Source
• Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
• Window on State Government, official website
• Comptroller of Public Accounts, Texas government
• Texas Budget Information from the Riley Group, LLC.
• Texas Legislative Budget Board, official website
• Texas Government spending
• Model transparency legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council is available at this link.
• Texas EDGE, Economic Data for Growth and Expansion

[edit] References

[edit] Additional reading

• Americans for Tax Reform Center for Fiscal Accountability, Texas Spending Transparency

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