Legislative Services

The House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood), met this week for a presentation by Comptroller Glenn Hegar on revenue available for the 2026-2027 budget.

Committee members heard invited testimony on major budget drivers, including:

• Property tax relief
• Economic Stabilization Fund balance
• Public education and the Foundation School Program
• Medicaid
• Behavioral and mental health
• Department of Family and Protective Services
• Transportation
• Water and flood mitigation
• Employees Retirement System
• Teacher Retirement System

The House and Senate baseline budget bills are very similar – both total around $330 billion in All Funds and provide consistent funding for programs and grants important to counties. A comparison of county-related funding items in both bills is available here.

Unlike their counterparts in the Senate, members of the House Appropriations Committee will break into subcommittees to hear testimony on agency budgets and programs. The subcommittees will review specific budget sections, or "articles," that fund various state functions.

Article I, IV, & V — General government (for example, the Governor's Public Safety Office grant programs and the Comptroller's Broadband and Rural Law Enforcement grant programs), the judiciary (e.g., juror pay, district judge salaries, prosecutor and district attorney salaries and salary supplements, county judge salary supplement) and public safety and criminal justice (e.g., Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which includes funding for community supervision and corrections and continuing salary increases for probation officers). Article I, IV & V subcommittee roster.

Article II — Health and Human Services (e.g., funding for community-based behavioral and mental health programs and forensic beds at state mental hospitals). Article II subcommittee roster.

Article III — Public and higher education. Article III subcommittee roster.

Article VI, VII, and VIII — Natural resources (e.g., Texas Parks and Wildlife Department), business and economic development (e.g., Texas Department of Transportation, Department of Motor Vehicles) and regulatory agencies (e.g., Department of Insurance). Article VI, VII & VIII subcommittee roster.

House Bill 1 reserves funds for additional budget priorities that may emerge. Under the state's spending cap, the House can allocate up to an additional $5 billion — $4.8 billion are available now. The enactment of the supplemental appropriation bill for the current two-year budget that ends on Aug. 31 will increase the $5 billion cap.

For more on what's in the House baseline bill, including the remaining spending authority under each spending cap, refer to this summary from the Legislative Budget Board.

For more information on the state budget, please contact Zelma Smith.