SAN ANTONIO – Texas lawmakers will have an estimated $30 billion in surplus on the budget. They will head to Austin on Tuesday to decide how to allocate the funds and introduce bills that will become law.
But just how much should be spent on what and what’s a priority will be hard to narrow down.
Texas Democratic Senator Jose Menendez (D-26) said education and mental health should be priorities across the state.
“We’ve had so many tragedies around this nation that I believe can be directly attributed to the fact that young people need to have access to mental health care where they are,” he said.
Republican Representative Steve Allison (D-126) agrees, saying all aspects of education, and health care need to be addressed.
“From a school safety standpoint, addressing the learning loss from the pandemic, improving the compensation and benefits for our teachers, both active and retired,” he said.
Governor Greg Abbott has indicated he wants to use the surplus to lower property taxes.
Lawmakers agree the formula used to collect property taxes needs to be adjusted to ease the burden on taxpayers.