Highlights 77th Texas Legislature - Senate

_____________________ A PPROPRIATIONS
PPROPRIATIONS ACT
77 th Texas Legislature
add another $1.2 billion in revenue, bringing the total amount available for certification from General
Revenue Funds to $62.2 billion for the 2002-2003 biennium.
The amount appropriated in the 77 th Legislature’s General Appropriations Act for the 2002-2003 biennium
totals $61.7 billion, and other bills appropriate an additional $390 million. Total General Revenue Fund
appropriations, then, are $62.1 billion, which is under the expected available revenue estimate.
Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander certified $61.7 billion in funds currently expected to be available 2002-
2003 biennial budget. The budget certified by the comptroller appropriates a total of $113.8 billion from All
Funds for the 2002-2003 biennium. Of that amount, $61.7 billion is from General Revenue, $4.5 billion is
General Revenue-dedicated, and $47.5 billion is from federal and Other Funds. All Funds appropriations of
$113.8 billion for the next biennium represent an increase of 11.6 percent or $11.8 billion compared to the
76 th Legislature’s total appropriations of $101,925.9 billion from All Funds (including anticipated
supplemental spending needs).
The comptroller stated that $61.7 billion is a balanced figure that masks underlying discrepancies that could
make the budget next session a challenge. Rylander said the 2002-2003 budget relies on a projected $2.9
billion surplus from this biennium as part of the revenue base used to fund the $61.7 billion in
appropriations, and an additional $800 million is funded by one-time measures that cannot be repeated
next biennium. The comptroller warned legislators that next session the beginning state budget could be
$5 billion in the red.
The appropriations base for General Revenue for the subsequent biennium (2004–2005) will begin at least
$1.4 billion higher than the $61.7 billion base adopted in this session. S.B. 1 includes funding for only one
year of teacher health insurance at $1.25 billion and delays the last Medicaid premium payment of $150
million. The next legislature will need to continue funding teacher health insurance and make the last
Medicaid premium payment before determining the budget for the 2004-2005 biennium.
Limit on Welfare Spending – Article III, Sec. 51-a, Texas Constitution. The constitutional limit for this
budget cycle is $113,756.6 million. The amount that may be paid out of state funds for assistance grants to
or on behalf of needy dependent children and their caretakers shall not exceed one percent of the state
budget in any biennium. In accordance with the Human Resources Code, Section 31.053, the 2002-2003
maximum biennial amount of one percent of the state budget is $1,137.7 million. The amount included in
S.B. 1 subject to that limit is $243.2 million in state dollars paid out as the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families grant. This amount is $894.5 million less than the one percent of the state budget for the 2002-
2003 biennium.
Limit on Tax-Supported Debt – Article III, Section 49j, Texas Constitution. Prohibits the legislature from
authorizing additional state debt if, in any fiscal year, the resulting maximum annual debt service payable
from the General Revenue Fund, excluding revenues constitutionally dedicated for purposes other than
payment of state debt, exceeds five percent of the average annual unrestricted General Revenue for the
previous three years. Based on the constitutional provision, LBB estimates indicate that the average
unrestricted General Revenue for the three years immediately preceding Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 was
$24,273,345,000. The maximum annual amount of five percent of the average unrestricted General
Revenue for the three years immediately preceding FY 2001 is estimated at $1,213,667,000.
Senate Research Center 4