Here is an excerpt from the Texas Scorecard
Lawmakers Begin Budget Process
The process of writing and passing the state budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal years has officially kicked off, with both the Texas House and Senate releasing their base budgets to act as the starting point as the legislative session continues. Brandon Waltens reports both chambers’ biennial budget drafts would see the state spending an unprecedented $130 billion – and both include property tax relief.
assing a balanced budget is one of the only constitutionally mandated tasks of the state Legislature. But while lawmakers faced a budget shortfall in the last legislative session, this session is different with $32.7 billion in surplus cash available.
Reminder: “Surplus” is a euphemism for “over-collection of taxes from the citizens of Texas.”
Gov. Greg Abbott himself recently reiterated that the surplus should be “returned to taxpayers” and that lawmakers would deliver “the largest property tax cut in Texas history.”
Both chambers have allocated $15 billion for property tax relief. The budget hawks at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility call that “a great start” but say that it “falls short of providing the largest property tax cut in Texas history.”
Over the coming weeks, the budget will be tweaked – possibly even substantially – through the committee processes in the House and Senate as well as on the floor of both chambers.
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