On Tuesday, February 14, the Senate Finance Committee wrapped up the first round of budget hearings as it plans how to spend state dollars for the next two years. Representatives of every agency in the state appeared before the committee over the last three weeks expounding on agency spending requests. The next step for the committee is to break into workgroups. Members assigned to each workgroup will take a close look at a single budget article and recommend spending levels for the 2018-2019 biennium. These panels will meet for a few weeks and then the full committee will vote on each workgroup's recommendations. If approved, they become part of the official budget bill, which will then go before the full Senate for consideration. Chair Jane Nelson also specified that the findings of the workgroups will be folded into Article Subcommittees.
Workgroups
- Workgroup on Transferability (college credits) Sens.: Royce West (Chair), Robert Nichols, & Larry Taylor
- Workgroup on Special Items in Article III Sens.: Kel Seliger (Chair), Juan Hinojosa, Lois Kolkhorst, Larry Taylor, & Kirk Watson
- School Finance Workgroup Sens.: Larry Taylor (Chair), Paul Bettencourt, Brian Birdwell, Kelly Hancock, Juan Hinojosa, Kel Seliger, & Royce West
- Healthcare Costs Workgroup Sens.: Charles Schwertner (Chair), Joan Huffman, Lois Kolkhorst, Robert Nichols, Carlos Uresti, Kirk Watson, & John Whitmire
- Juvenile Justice Workgroup Sens.: John Whitmire (Chair), Joan Huffman, Lois Kolkhorst, Larry Taylor, & Royce West
Article Subcommittees
- Art. I, IV, V (General Gov’t, Judiciary, Public Safety & Criminal Justice) – Sens.: Joan Huffman (chair), Kelly Hancock, Juan Hinojosa, Lois Kolkhorst, and John Whitmire
- Art. II (Health Care) – Sens.: Charles Schwertner (chair), Brian Birdwell, Lois Kolkhorst, Carlos Uresti, and Kirk Watson
- Art. III (Education) – Sens.: Larry Taylor (chair), Paul Bettencourt, Kelly Hancock, Kel Seliger, and Royce West
- Art. VI, VII, VIII (Natural Resources, Business & Eco Dev, Regulatory) – Sens.: Robert Nichols (chair), Paul Bettencourt, Juan Hinojosa, Kel Seliger, and Kirk Watson