The filed House supplemental appropriations bill, HB2, would appropriate $1.4 billion from Texas’ Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF), also known as the Rainy Day Fund. However, a committee substitute for HB2 (CSHB2) was recently outlined in the House Appropriations Committee that would increase the appropriation from the ESF to $2.4 billion, which together with $957 million from general revenue (GR) and $1.8 billion from federal funds, would bring the total cost of the supplemental bill to $5.2 billion. An examination of the numbers shows that this is far too costly for taxpayers and that there is no need to use any money from the ESF.
Taxes & Spending
Bigger in Texas: Sizing Up the State’s Finances
Every even-numbered year, the state’s Legislative Budget Board (LBB) publishes a helpful, user-friendly summation of the General Appropriations Act (GAA), otherwise known as the state’s two-year budget. On Wednesday, the LBB published the next iteration—its 2024-25 Fiscal Size-Up. From a 30,000 ft. level, this new report provides “a comprehensive review of how tax dollars were...
August 2, 2024