Gavel To Gavel 87th Legislative Session: February 12, 2021
Senate Finance Committee meetings commenced this week with updates from the Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) and the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) on the financial condition of the state. The Comptroller’s presentation was largely a reiteration of his Biennial Revenue Estimate, but he did give us several important points to chew on:
$271 million that is constitutionally required to be dedicated to the state’s Guaranteed College Tuition Plan, can be added back to his estimates of available spending as long as they are appropriated through the state budget.
While the CPA has a record of emergency federal funds flowing into Texas through the State Treasury, estimates for funds going to smaller entities can only be extrapolations or “back of the envelope” calculations. He will be working to ascertain which entities receiving indeterminate federal funds may also be seeking state appropriations.
The Legislative Budget Board’s presentation also revealed several key pieces of data for state budget-writers:
Due to the influx of COVID-19 funds, the Medicaid program may not require supplemental appropriations—the first time that’s happened in years.
The LBB estimates that federal COVID-19 funds may also completely erase the CPA’s projected $946 M deficit for 2020-21.
During the LBB’s presentation, lawmakers expressed concerns about state agencies selling client data and that the resulting profits are not included in budget figures. Finance Chair Sen. Nelson requested that the LBB conduct a survey to ascertain which—if any—state agencies are involved.
More budget-related news: Lt. Governor Dan Patrick told the Texas Business Leadership Council that he wants to direct “the first $6 billion that we get from the federal government” to cover a shortfall in the Texas Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, to hopefully avoid an unemployment insurance tax hike for businesses already stretched to their limits by COVID-19. He also threw cold water on proposed expansions of gambling in Texas, saying possible increases in state revenue were not sufficiently persuasive for him to support the effort.
In other news: The first House Appropriations Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 17th. Some bittersweet clarity on the redistricting process, as the U.S. Census Bureau announced Friday that redistricting data will be delivered to all states by September 30, 2021—guaranteeing at least one special session. And remember that early voting for the special election runoff in House District 68 begins on the 16th.
The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced that Texas will receive 407,650 first doses of COVID-19 next week, which will be distributed to 302 providers in 158 counties, including 85 large hub providers. Through the State Mobile Vaccine Pilot Program, Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) announced the deployment of mobile vaccine teams to underserved counties. Additionally, the Governor stated that three FEMA-run mass vaccination sites are expected to open in underserved communities in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth before the end of the month.