Budget battles and federal aid
The Texas Senate unanimously passed its budget bill, Senate Bill 1, which maintains the Legislature’s commitment to boost state spending on public schools and property tax relief—a top priority in the 2019 session. The budget also commits nearly $800 million to the state’s border security forces, and about $8 billion for mental health programs. Beyond that, the bill includes substantial belt-tightening for other government services and agencies—a response to Governor Greg Abbott’s call last year for 5 percent budget cuts for most parts of the state government. Still, the budget largely avoids catastrophic cuts that many feared were coming after the pandemic threw the state’s finances into chaos.