With the 89th legislative session kicking off this week, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar delivered a cautious—yet optimistic—revenue estimate for the next two years on Monday. The revenue forecast projects a slight decrease from the previous biennium, when lawmakers had record levels of taxpayer money at their disposal. Hegar estimated the Legislature will have about $195 billion for general purpose spending, a 1 percent decrease from the previous biennium.
Still, Hegar said lawmakers will have yet another large surplus, to start from this session: an estimated $23.8 billion that includes $4.5 billion that was set aside last session for public education funding tied to Governor Greg Abbott’s priority school vouchers bill. The allocated funds for both were never doled out because the governor held the school funding hostage while his voucher plan was killed in the Texas House.
Meanwhile, Texas’ Economic Stabilization Fund—known as the rainy day fund—is also expected to hit its constitutionally imposed cap for the first time in state history.
