On January 12, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said the state can expect to have $113.0 billion in funds available for general-purpose spending. This represents 2016-17 total revenue collections of $110.4 billion in General Revenue-related funds, plus $7.5 billion in balances from 2014-15, less $5.0 billion reserved for 2016-17 transfers to the Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) and the State Highway Fund.
Absent any appropriations by the Legislature, the ESF balance is expected to be $11.1 billion at the end of the 2016-17 biennium, below the ESF constitutional limit of an estimated $16.1 billion. The Biennial Revenue Estimate published today is one part of the calculations legislators in the 84th will use during the appropriation process.
The other portion of the calculation is the limit on spending set by the Legislation Budget Board. As reported in the HillCo Client Advisory, on December 1, the LBB adopted a projected state personal income growth rate of 11.68 percent from fiscal 2014-15 to fiscal 2016-17. Subject to adjustments appropriated to the last biennium and without concurrent resolution, this limits spending from non-dedicated tax revenue in fiscal 2016-17 to $94.3 billion, up from $84.4 billion in fiscal 2014-15.