Governor Greg Abbott started our week with his virtual State of the State address, outlining five emergency items for legislators to prioritize this session: expanding broadband access, preventing cities from “defunding” police departments, changing Texas’ bail system, ensuring elections integrity, and protecting businesses from COVID-19-related lawsuits. This address was followed a few days later by his 2022-23 budget which included and built on his priorities in the State of the State, recommending that the Legislature increase the availability of teleservices, continue the progress made on school finance and property tax reform, and continue to attract jobs and capital investments to the state…

Senate Redistricting Committee hearings got underway this week, facing all the same challenges as the rest of the legislative process. Usually conducted during the interim and all throughout the state, these meetings will be held in Austin and the witnesses will testify via two-way videoconferencing. While Committee members were already flying blind without 2020 census data, this week delivered a further blow to their efforts when the U.S. Census Bureau announced that updated population estimates will likely not be available until the end of July. Though hardly a surprise, this does almost guarantee that the Legislature will have to reconvene for a special session…

The highlight of this week was the House and Senate releasing their base budgets for the 2022-2023 biennium. Both chambers proposed General Revenue expenditures of $119.7 billion, staying under the Legislative Budget Board’s 7.06 percent spending limit…

Opening week of the 87th Legislative Session started with better-than-expected news from the Comptroller of Public Accounts. While previous estimates warned of a $4.6 billion deficit, revised estimates place that closer to $1 billion. Additionally, we are entering the session with $112.5 billion available for general-purpose spending during the 2022-23 biennium, just 4% shy of the funds available for the previous session. This is a relief for budget-writers as they try to craft a balanced budget…

After a year defined by turbulence and uncertainty, we round the corner towards the 2021 Legislative Session. On Monday, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar will be holding a virtual press conference to present the Biennial Revenue Estimate for 2022-23. Comptroller Hegar released Texas’ sales tax revenue for December, reporting double-digit declines in multiple tax revenues. These numbers aren’t terribly reassuring when set against the Comptroller’s projected $4.58 billion deficit for FY 2021, nor can we look to federal relief funds to provide much clarity on the subject…

The first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Texas this week after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer vaccine. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) released an update on Monday stating that Texas was allocated 224,250 doses of vaccine to be distributed to 110 providers across the state within the first week…

Until recently, we’ve had very little in the way of specifics regarding House and Senate procedures during the pandemic. This week we received valuable insight on the measures that have been decided and those that remain outstanding for both chambers…

With just over a month before the start of Texas’ 87th Legislative Session, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar provided an update to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) on Monday, wherein he indicated that Texas’ budget shortfall would be less dire than his midsummer projection. Though he offered no specifics, he said he expects to finalize his projections for release of the Biennial Revenue Estimate on January 11, 2021, the day before Session begins…

News from the Capitol was thin this week as everyone winds down for a Thanksgiving that will look very different from what we’re accustomed to. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised people to celebrate this holiday at home with the members of their household as the U.S. reaches almost 12 million cases of COVID-19. This will be a challenge for many families that have already gone too long without being able to see their loved ones. However, this guidance is tempered by not one, but two COVID-19 vaccine breakthroughs from Pfizer and Moderna…

As the interim comes to a close, so thankfully does the uncertainty around leadership of the Texas House of Representatives heading into Texas’ 87th legislative session. Last week, Representative Dade Phelan announced that he had broad bipartisan support for his candidacy for Speaker of the House of Representatives…