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Texas state budget (2008-2009)

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Note: This article was last updated in 2009. Click here for more recent information on state budgets and finances.


State Information


The Texas state budget is implemented for two-year durations by the Legislative Budget Board. Agencies develop their appropriations requests in the first year, the legislature approves the General Appropriations Act in the second year, and the budget is implemented over the next two years.[1] By constitutional mandate, Texas operates under budgets set for two-year periods.[2]

Budget status, 2008-2009

As of February 5, 2009, Texas was not facing a budget deficit.[3] Texas expected to take in $77.1 billion in state revenues in 2009.[4] This was a 10.5% decrease in revenue from 2008.[5]

The total budget for the 2008 and 2009 biennium was almost $168 billion. In addition, Texas held about $6.7 billion in a “Rainy Day Fund.”[6] The Rainy Day Fund was established in 1987 following an economic downturn; three-fourths of any oil and gas revenue that was above the 1987 level of such revenue was transferred into the Rainy Day Fund.[7] The fund was expected to reach $9.1 billion by the end of 2011.[8]

In 2008, Texas’ gross state product grew by 4.2%, while the national economy’s GDP grew by 1.9%.[9]

In his State of the State Address for the 2008-2009 budget term, Governor Rick Perry said that Texas added 1.2 million new jobs in the last five years, that 70% of new jobs created in the United States from November 2007 to November 2008 were created in Texas, and that despite facing a $10 billion deficit in 2002, Texas was operating with a surplus without having raised taxes on its citizens.[10]

The 2008-2009 budget included $2 billion in expenses related to hurricanes Ike, Dolly and Gustav.[11]

Budget background

See also: Texas state budget and finances

Texas' fiscal year runs from September 1 to the following August 31 of an odd-numbered year (for example, September 1, 2008 - August 31, 2009.[12] Since 1978, the state constitution has required the State Comptroller to create an itemized estimate of the incoming revenue that will be available to the state for spending in the upcoming two-year fiscal period (biennium).[13] This estimate is submitted to the governor and the legislature and is used as a baseline to ensure that appropriations do not exceed incoming revenue.[14] Once an appropriation bill is agreed on by both houses of the legislature, it is sent to the State Comptroller for certification that there would be sufficient incoming revenue to cover the bill's appropriations.[15] If the Comptroller concludes that there is not enough money to cover the proposed spending, the bill is sent back to the legislature, where any spending in excess of anticipated revenue must be approved by a 4/5 vote in each house.[16] Once a bill is certified by the comptroller, the bill is sent to the governor for review and signature; the state constitution grants the governor a line-item veto, which he/she can use to cancel out specific provisions without having to veto the bill in its entirety.[17]

Budget figures, 2000-2009

The following table provides a history of Texas' budget and actual expenditures from 2000 to 2009.

Biennium term Estimated/budgeted Amount actually spent
2000-2001 $101.8 billion[18][19] $101.9 billion[20]
2002-2003 $114.1 billion[21] $115.9 billion[22]
2004-2005 $118.2 billion[23] $126.6 billion[24]
2006-2007 $138.2 billion[25] $145.1 billion[26][27]
2008-2009 $167.8 billion[28][29] n/a

Breakdown of sources of revenue

The following table breaks down the state budget by sources of revenue for the 2008-2009 term.[30]

Source of revenue Percentage of overall revenue
Tax collections 52.1%
Federal income 31.1%
Miscellaneous 9.8%
Licenses, fees and fines 7.9%

Breakdown of spending by area

The following table breaks down the state budget by areas of spending for the 2008-2009 term.[31]

Area of spending Percentage of overall spending
Education 44.4%
Health & Human Services 31.6%
Business & Economic Development 12.2%
Public Safety & Criminal Justice 6.2%
General Government 2.4%
Natural Resources 1.9%

Proposed budget for 2010-2011

  • Governor Perry's proposals for the 2010-2011 fiscal term included the following.[32][33]
    • $260 million for the Texas Enterprise Fund;
    • 203.5 million for the Emerging Technology Fund;
    • $60 million for the Texas Film Incentive Program ;
    • $60 million for the Skill Development Fund;
    • $97 million for the Texas High School Project;
    • 622.5 million in teachers incentive and reward programs;
    • 645.7 million related to higher education programs;
    • $110 million for the Texas Grant Program for financial aid;
    • $28 million for community college financial aid;
    • $168.9 million for higher education incentive funding;
    • $10 million for nursing education;
    • $10 million for health and fitness programs for middle and high school students;
    • $150 million for disaster and emergency appropriations; and
    • $135 million for border security.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Texas Legislative Budget Board, Budget 101
  2. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, History (dead link)
  3. ↑ The Austin Chronicle, State Agencies Asked for Savings, February 2, 2009
  4. ↑ Austin News, Texas Revenue Falls Short $9.1 billion, January 13, 2009
  5. ↑ Texas Comptroller Susan Combs 2010-2011 Biennial Revenue Estimate, January 12, 2009
  6. ↑ Houston Chronicle Agencies Asked to Submit Budget Cuts, February 2, 2009
  7. ↑ Texas Comptroller Susan Combs 2010-2011 Biennial Revenue Estimate, January 12, 2009
  8. ↑ Texas Comptroller Susan Combs 2010-2011 Biennial Revenue Estimate, January 12, 2009
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TexasAhead
  10. ↑ Office of the Governor Rick Perry, Gov. Perry Addresses the State of the State of Texas, January 27, 2009
  11. ↑ Houston Chronicle, Stated Leaders Authorize Payments to Vendors, February 5, 2009 (dead link)
  12. ↑ Senate Research Center, Budget 101
  13. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, History (dead link)
  14. ↑ Senate Research Center, Budget 101
  15. ↑ Senate Research Center, Budget 101
  16. ↑ Legislative Budget Board (dead link)
  17. ↑ Senate Research Center, Budget 101
  18. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up 2008-09 Biennium, March 2008 (dead link)
  19. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up, March 2008 (dead link)
  20. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up, January 2002
  21. ↑ Legislative Budget Board Fiscal Size-up, 2002-2003 Biennium, January 2002
  22. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up, March 2008 (dead link)
  23. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up, 2004-2005 Biennium, Dcember 2004
  24. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up 2008-09 Biennium, March 2008 (dead link)
  25. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up 2006-207 Biennium, December 2005 (dead link)
  26. ↑ Texas Budget Source, Fast Facts about Texas Spending
  27. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up 2008-09 Biennium, March 2008 (dead link)
  28. ↑ Texas Budget Source, Fast Facts about Texas Spending
  29. ↑ Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-up 2008-09 Biennium, March 2008 (dead link)
  30. ↑ Texas Budget Source, Budget by Area
  31. ↑ Texas Budget Source, Budget by Area
  32. ↑ The following figures were all taken from Governor Perry's 2010-2011 budget proposals:
  33. ↑ Governor's Budget 2010-2011, January 27, 2009
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