$8.5 billion school funding package passes Texas Senate
The legislation includes new pots of money for teacher raises and other school costs like insurance and transportation. It now heads to the House, where leaders say it will pass. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/660cedab79243349e3c2161c7bd743c3/0405%20Waco%20Reading%20GDGV%20TT%2017.jpg)
The latest budget news from The Texas Tribune.
The legislation includes new pots of money for teacher raises and other school costs like insurance and transportation. It now heads to the House, where leaders say it will pass. Full Story
Texas Republicans are pushing the federal government to pay the state’s costs of Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg’s Abbott’s border security initiative. Full Story
Texas legislators slipped millions for child ID kits into a 1,000-page budget proposal. The move comes two years after they quietly cut funding for such kits following a ProPublica and Texas Tribune report that showed there’s no evidence they work. Full Story
The lower chamber’s plan largely aligns with the Senate’s proposal and puts billions toward teacher pay, border security and property tax cuts. Full Story
State budget watchers — and some Republicans — worry Texas is spending too much on property tax cuts. Full Story
Among the hundreds of amendments were ones that focused on school vouchers, the attorney general’s office and the Texas Lottery. Full Story
As the Texas House prepares to vote on the budget, officials and other experts monitor national policy and state tax revenue. Full Story
Next step will be action in the state House, where budget writers have different plans for distributing property tax help. Full Story
Officials said the state’s higher cost of living means less state sales tax revenue, which makes up more than half of the state budget. Full Story
Both chambers set aside $1 billion for a voucher-like education savings account program — double what was on the table two years ago — in a sign that supporters are emboldened after recent electoral gains. Full Story
The estimate includes $23.8 billion leftover from the current budget cycle. Full Story
If bills now being considered pass, lawmakers will be left with $3.3 billion to take care of unforeseen costs over the next two years. Some experts worry that Texas can’t sustain its massive spending on the border and public education. Full Story
Lawmakers this year didn’t approve extra money to help schools pay for raises despite having an unprecedented $32 billion surplus — even after Gov. Greg Abbott commissioned a task force last year to improve teacher pay and retention. Full Story
In a live edition of TribCast, the Tribune’s weekly podcast, we discussed the outcomes of the regular session, what’s happening in the current special session and more. Full Story
The proposal for the 2024-25 budget cycle includes $142.1 billion in general revenue spending — about $5 billion higher than the proposal approved last week by the Texas House — at a time when lawmakers have a historic $32.7 billion surplus at their disposal this session. Full Story
After a marathon debate, the bill will head to the Senate, where lawmakers have been crafting their own version of the spending plan. Full Story
House Bill 1 is being debated on the floor of the lower chamber, where representatives are hammering out details on the next two years of state spending. Full Story
The proposal recommends spending billions on programs including property tax cuts, teacher pay raises, mental health services and border security. It leaves out requests for pay raises for retired state employees and funding for rent relief and childcare programs. Full Story
If Texas’ budget surplus were distributed directly to Texans, it could pay for 12 years of school lunches, seven months of rent or 11,000 miles of travel. Here’s how to put the big number into perspective. Full Story
Abbott’s spending proposals also include spending $750 million on school safety and mental health services and expanding postpartum Medicaid to a year. Full Story