Texas GOP lawmakersโ border and education wishlist would expand state budget by $2.7 billion โ and counting
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 canโt sustain its massive spending on the border and public education.
Texas lawmakers have a $27 billion surplus, but a spending cap complicates their goal of lowering property taxes
Texas homeowners have some of the highest property tax bills in the nation, a byproduct of the stateโs reliance on such taxes to help pay for public schools and the stateโs lack of an income tax.
Texas House speaker pitches spending more than $100 million for mental health, school safety programs
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had asked House leaders to support his push for arming school police officers with bulletproof shields after the Uvalde shooting. House Speaker Dade Phelan is also asking for more money for mental health and school safety programs.
Texas Supreme Court may decide next plot twist in the Democratic walkout, and the fate of 2,100 state employees
The stateโs highest civil court has been asked to decide if Gov. Greg Abbott has the power to cut off funding for legislative staff, a move Abbott hoped would keep Democratic lawmakers from leaving the state and shutting down a special legislative session.
Texas lawmakers take first steps to restore Legislatureโs funding after Abbottโs veto
The House Appropriations Committee voted on Friday 21-0 to move forward a bill that would reinstate the funding after Abbott vetoed it to punish House Democrats who broke quorum in the final days of the session to kill two of his priority bills.