by Andy Welch
EduLege Extra Some of the timely issues that have been addressed in recent editions of EduLege Robust. Very robust… The Texas economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has been so robust that legislators should have nearly $25 billion — yep, that’s a B — when they convene again in January 2023 to write the next two-year state budget. State Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported recently that he projects a cash balance in the State Treasury of $11.99 billion and another $12.62 billion in the state’s so-called Rainy Day Fund, or savings account, available for the 2023 Texas Legislature to spend — or save — as it sees fit.
In the two-year budget cycle that began on Sept. 1, Texas legislators and Governor Abbott approved state programs and services that spend $123.3 billion in General Revenue Funds.
“This is an expectation,” Comptroller Hegar said of his latest revenue estimate, “not a guarantee of what may be in the treasury. It’s important to always leave a little money in the bank because you never know what the economy’s going to do.”
Looking beyond the next two years … As oil and gas companies slowly become sources of cleaner energy, Texas’ public schools may pay part of the price, according to research from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Mr. Hegar cited uncertainties over inflation, energy prices, labor availability and global supply chain bottlenecks as grounds for circumspection.
Researchers found that because of the emerging energy transition, K-12 education funding — which in Texas relies heavily on taxes from oil and gas production — could begin to fall short of spending needs sometime between 2022 and 2029 — with average annual deficits of $2.5 billion to $5.8 billion. Annual shortfalls could add up to well over $100 billion over the next three decades, researchers say.
The list of issues awaiting the 88th legislative session next year is already growing. Texas has the largest number of medically-uninsured residents in the nation; the state’s foster care system is in shambles; experts warn that the state’s fresh water supply and electrical power grid are both suspect and enrollment in community colleges has suffered a dramatic 11 percent decline since the pandemic began. 18
Asked by the “Dallas Morning News” if he would use his megaphone as the state’s chief tax collector and fiscal officer to recommend selective increases in spending in two years, Mr. Hegar said that it would be “very prudent” to wait through 2022 to see if his revenue projections are on target. The 2023 Legislature can then “make some decisions on how they prudently want to use these dollars — if the numbers bear out.”
Winter 2021 | www.TSPRA.org
“We predict that education funding will decrease by between $13 billion and $120 billion over the next 30 years because of the shift toward renewable energy,” the authors wrote.
