Senate passes state budget

The Texas Senate unanimously passed SB 1, its version of the state budget, on March 25. The product of significant effort in the Senate Finance Committee, the state budget is the only bill the Texas Legislature is required to pass each session. Having left the Senate, the bill will now be heard by the House Appropriations Committee, which will soon complete its own version of the state budget, HB 1. 

SB 1 includes:

• $5.3 billion in new funding for public schools, $4.9 billion of which is for teacher pay increases and changes to the Teacher Incentive Allotment program (both from SB 26),
• $1 billion would be earmarked for private school vouchers (from SB 2),
• $400 million for school safety improvements, and
• $450 million to minimize premium increases in the TRS-ActiveCare program. 

The bill would also increase the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 for all homeowners and to $150,000 for seniors at an estimated cost of $3.5 billion. Businesses would also receive $500 million in property tax reductions.

Much of the state budget is contingent upon specific legislation passing, and a lot can happen as the House and Senate negotiate the final version of the budget before sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott. Increasing the homestead exemption would also require voter approval to amend the state constitution.  

The House will begin discussing SB 1 on March 31, so stay tuned for more updates as the final budget develops.