(The Center Square) – The state’s budget bill has been filed in the Texas Senate by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, who chairs the Texas Senate Finance Committee.
SB 1 is the Texas Senate’s proposed state budget for the 2026-2027 biennium and written by Huffman, members of the Finance Committee and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s budget team.
Patrick says the budget “reflects the conservative priorities of Texans” using “conservative budgeting principles … [to] ensure that state government does not grow faster than population times inflation. Like the budget for the current biennium, Texas must prioritize one-time spending of our surplus. This will keep our state’s economy the envy of the nation and the world.”
Texas posted a nearly $24 billion surplus, higher than originally projected, The Center Square reported.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar earlier this month released his office’s Biennial Revenue Estimate projecting Texas to have $194.6 billion in revenue available for general-purpose spending during the 2026-2027 biennium, higher than originally projected.
The 2026-2027 All Funds budget includes state and federal funds totaling $332.9 billion, a decrease of $55.3 million, or practically a zero percent change, according to Patrick’s office.
All State Funds total $234.4 billion, an increase of $9.7 billion, or 4.3%. The majority of the budget, 70%, is allocated for healthcare and education costs.
“Our conservative approach to budgeting has allowed Texas to maintain a pristine balance sheet going into the next biennium,” Patrick said.
“It is no secret that the Texas economy is thriving,” Huffman said. “By remaining fiscally conservative and making strategic investments, we can address the needs of our growing state while keeping an eye on the future. In the coming weeks, the Senate Finance Committee will hold daily public hearings on the budget to hear from state agencies, stakeholders, and the public.”
The budget claims to prioritize property tax relief by allocating $32.2 billion to extend last biennium’s tax cuts, providing additional compression under HB 3, which was passed in the regulator legislative session in 2019. It also seeks to increase the homestead exemption to $140,000 for homeowners and $150,000 for seniors.
Education funding is also increased across the board.
The budget proposal seeks to allocate $73.1 billion in All Funds to fully fund public school education, including another $400 million for school safety.
It would allocate an additional $5.3 billion to fund public education and $4.9 billion to increase teacher pay, and would make changes to the Teacher Incentive Allotment. Pay would increase by $4,000 for all teachers, and $10,000 for rural teachers “to close the salary gap between our rural and larger school districts.”
The budget also seeks to allocate $1 billion for school choice. A school choice bill will be filed separately and is a legislative priority of Patrick’s and Gov. Greg Abbott’s.
The budget seeks to allocate $46.5 billion All State Funds for state Health and Human Services spending for the 2026-2027 biennium, an increase of $845.2 million, or 1.9%, from the 2024-2025 biennium. This excludes an additional $756 million to increase base wages for community attendants who provide non-technical, medical personal care services for eligible individuals who have health limitations.
It also would allocate an unprecedented $3 billion to create a new Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas – half of the state’s budget for border security operations and more than funding for water and flood infrastructure.
The budget seeks to allocate $6.5 billion to continue Texas’ border security operations and $402 million to hire 567 new Department of Public Safety troopers and 159 related enforcement personnel with needed equipment.
It proposes allocating an additional $5 billion for a second transfer to the Texas Energy Fund to strengthen the state’s electric grid, and $2.5 billion for comprehensive funding for water and flood infrastructure.
The budget seeks to allocate $509 million for emergency preparedness and response capabilities, including $315 million to fund seven new Texas Division of Emergency Management regional centers statewide. It also would allocate $194 million for the Texas A&M Forest Service for additional specialized planes and helicopters to help with wildfire suppression.
Another $40.4 billion is allocated to the Texas Department of Transportation and $1 billion to reduce state obligations for unfunded pension liability.
The budget also seeks to allocate $498 million in what many have described as corporate welfare to provide taxpayer-funded incentives for movie production to make “Texas the movie capital of the world.” This includes $48 million in grants for small films and TV commercials, and up to $450 million in new tax credits.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
