Austin, Texas — Speaker of the Texas House Dade Phelan applauded the lower chamber for the passage of House Bill 1, a fiscally conservative, two-year budget that makes a number of critical investments to meet the needs of this rapidly-growing state.
House Bill 1 stays well below the state’s constitutional pay-as-you-go limit, the constitutional tax spending limit and a new consolidated general revenue limit. The Texas House also approved Senate Bill 30, supplemental appropriations legislation for the state’s current budget cycle.
“From property tax relief to public education, House Bill 1 prioritizes Texans by dedicating dollars to a wide range of issues while also keeping spending in check,” Speaker Phelan said. “House Bill 1 goes beyond maintaining our commitment to Texas children and educators by increasing the state’s share of public education to over 50% for the first time in more than a decade, fully funding schools, funneling additional dollars toward school safety measures and supporting retired teachers through a cost-of-living adjustment. House Bill 1 also allocates what would amount to the largest property tax cut in Texas history, while also expanding mental health resources, supporting institutions of higher education, fostering continued border security efforts and earmarking funds for critical infrastructure projects across the state.”
“I am grateful to my colleagues for being wise stewards of taxpayer dollars and doing what we can as lawmakers to build on the many successes our state has experienced over the past two years, especially during a time in which Texas is facing a record-setting budget surplus,” Speaker Phelan said. “House Bill 1 is a spending plan that every Texas House member should be proud of, and our chamber looks forward to working with the Texas Senate to get House Bill 1 to the governor’s desk in the near future.”
Additional details of House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 30:
$60.3 billion to fully fund school districts and charter schools, including a $5 billion increase in public education funding, contingent on other actions of the Legislature
$17.3 billion for property tax relief, including a 25-cent tax compression for school district property taxes and a $6.8 billion reduction in recapture payments, when combined with House Bill 2 and House Joint Resolution 1
$9.6 billion for mental health resources, including the support of inpatient client services at state hospitals, outpatient services through local mental health authorities and substance abuse treatment for incarcerated persons and veterans
$5.3 billion for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, including an additional $177.8 million for foster care rates and $91.1 million to expand community-based care in two new regions of the state
$4.6 billion for border security efforts, including $2.2 billion to the Texas Military Department and $1 billion to the Office of the Governor
$3.5 billion to provide an ongoing cost-of-living adjustment for Texas retired teachers, contingent on other actions of the Legislature
$3.5 billion toward funding and incentivizing research at institutions of higher education, contingent on other actions of the Legislature
$1.6 billion for school safety grants, including assisting school districts in replacing or upgrading windows, fencing, communications and other safety measures
$1.1 billion for funding enrollment growth, student financial aid and freezing tuition growth over a two-year period at institutions of higher education
$629 million for the Flood Infrastructure Fund, rural water projects and other infrastructure-related matters
