Speaker Burrows Offers Collaborative Base Budget Proposal

Texas Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows (R) released a statement commending the introduction of the House’s base budget proposal for the 2026-2027 biennium.

In his statement, he highlighted that the budget is closely aligned with the Senate’s proposal, resulting in a commitment to unity between the chambers and prioritizing fiscal conservatism.

The Texas house speaker thanked Chairman Greg Bonnen (R) and the entire Appropriations Committee, citing "their diligent efforts in crafting this proposal, which will serve as an excellent starting point for our budget deliberations."

The budget proposal outlines financial priorities while establishing the framework for the legislative session. According to Speaker Burrows, the budget provides a foundation for addressing critical issues like property tax relief, school choice, water infrastructure, and support for educators.

“Debating and passing the budget will be one of the most important undertakings of the session, as it will determine the financial boundaries under which we operate when considering all other major legislation,” he said.

Burrows emphasized the importance of identifying opportunities to allocate additional resources to deliver benefits like greater property tax relief and increased funding for classrooms and teachers.

“Accordingly, the budget will be considered on the House floor as soon as practical, and during this process, I would urge my colleagues in the House to identify additional resources within the budget to deliver even greater property tax relief and additional funding for classrooms and teachers,” Speaker Burrows stated.

According to a press release from the speaker's office, the Texas House's base budget proposal includes $335.7 billion in total spending as well as $154.1 billion in general revenue.

The following are highlights included in the budget:

Property Tax Relief: Provides $26.3 billion for the ongoing cost of the $100,000 homestead exemption and 10.6 cents of rate compression adopted by the 88th Legislature; Provides $3 billion for 6.8 cents of additional rate compression through existing mechanisms by FY27; Provides $3.5 billion for new property tax relief, contingent on legislation, for a total of $6.5 billion in new relief.

Public Education: Provides $4.85 billion in new funding, contingent on school finance legislation; Allocates $63 billion to fully fund student enrollment, a $3.4 billion increase; Includes $1 billion contingent on legislation establishing educational savings accounts; Dedicates $400 million for school safety improvements; and Appropriates $450 million to the Teacher Retirement System to minimize premium increases.

Border Security: Allocates $6.5 billion across multiple agencies to secure Texas’ international border.

Cybersecurity: Includes $1.1 billion to address high-risk cybersecurity threats and secure Texans’ data.

Rural Broadband: Appropriates $1.7 billion in anticipated federal funds to expand rural broadband access.

Healthcare: Appropriates $139 million to operationalize new state hospital beds built per investments by the 88th Legislature; Raises personal attendant wages to $12 per hour; Adds $174 million for the Early Childhood Intervention program and $73 million to expand Youth Crisis Outreach Teams; and Provides $20 million for three additional Women's Preventive Health Mobile Units in the Panhandle, West Texas, and Deep East Texas, bringing the total number of units to ten.

Public Safety: Allocates $402 million for 600 new state troopers and $363 million for correctional officer raises.

Infrastructure: Allocates $36 billion for highway projects, $2.5 billion for water infrastructure, and $34 million for flood control dam projects.