State agencies have all completed their Legislative Appropriations Requests, which are the agencies’ requests for money to operate their programs over the next two-year biennium, and these are being used to develop a draft budget bill for the Texas Legislature to consider next year.
The Legislative Budget Board and Governor’s Office of Budget, Planning and Policy are holding joint hearings on state agency legislative appropriations requests for the 2014-2015 biennium. These hearings provide an opportunity for the public to comment on budget proposals on health and human services, education and other critical state services before the regular legislative session starts in January 2013.
Texas leaders told state agencies to prepare budget proposals for fiscal years 2014-15 based on the amount of state general revenue funding they were given for the current two-year budget, FY 2012-13.
While the state’s economy is improving, Texas still faces more than $4.1 billion in budget shortfalls, budget experts told the House Appropriations Committee in February. This includes nearly $4 billion to cover Medicaid costs that lawmakers deferred by not funding Medicaid for a full two-year budget cycle.
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services invited Texans to submit initial ideas and input by March 16, 2012, on its LAR for fiscal year 2014-2015.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission submitted its operating budget for fiscal year 2012 (PDF) to the Governor’s Office of Budget, Planning and Policy and the Legislative Budget Board on Dec. 1, 2011.