The initial 2018-19 budget introduced by Texas House leadership released on Tuesday, January 17, puts additional resources into public education, child protection and mental health while increasing state spending by less than 1 percent, according to a press release sent out by Speaker Straus. The rest of the release states:
“We keep overall spending low while making investments in children and our future,” said Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio. “We put an emphasis on public education, child protection and better mental health care. The Members of the House, beginning with the Appropriations Committee, will now have the chance to shape this budget and decide how best to allocate resources during an economic slowdown. This is the first step toward producing a balanced budget that reflects the priorities of the Texas House and does not raise taxes.”
Highlights of the initial House budget include:
- Public Education. The budget provides funding to pay for expected enrollment growth of about 165,000 students over the next two years. It also includes an additional $1.5 billion for public education that is contingent upon the passage of legislation that reduces Recapture and improves equity in the school finance system.
- Child Protection. In December, the leaders of the House and Senate joined with Governor Greg Abbott to approve new caseworkers and investigators at Child Protective Services, as well as pay raises aimed at reducing employee turnover. Overall, the House budget provides $268 million to bring additional stability to the CPS workforce.
- Mental Health. The House budget increases funding for behavioral health by $162 million. The increase would allow the Legislature to eliminate wait lists for mental health services and implement recommendations of the House Select Committee on Mental Health, including early identification efforts, jail diversion programs and local collaborations to expand capacity of mental health treatment facilities. The increase also provides funding for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Veterans.
The initial House plan appropriates $108.9 billion in General Revenue. It reduces funding for administrative costs and discretionary programs across state agencies. It also eliminates one-time funding provided by the last Legislature, such as completed capital and information technology projects. It also includes cost-containment efforts to reduce spending in Medicaid by $100 million.
“The House will have a productive debate about where to go from here,” Speaker Straus said. “I’m confident that the end product will put more dollars in the classroom, protect children and keep this state on sound fiscal footing.”
To further compare House and Senate introduced budget bills visit the LBB site.
Both the House and Senate introduced bills along with estimates and summaries are now available on the LBB site.
