https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/27/texas-legislature-budget-approved/(Links to an external site.)

You are now a state representative serving on the House Appropriations Committee, which is the budget-writing committee chaired by Representative Greg Bonnen, a neurosurgeon from League City who is serving his fourth term in the House of Representatives. You represent the district where you live, wherever that is. What do you think your constituents want in a state budget? Are they more worried about public education? Higher Education? Health care? Highways? Crime? Are they more worried about keeping their taxes down? Without trying to write an entire budget, explain what spending priorities would be important to you and why. For what changes would you advocate?

Note: (This is the important part) Texas is required by its Constitution to have a balanced budget, $50 million increase in a program that's important to your district, make sure you tell where you would either cut $50 million from another program or how you would raise $50 million in additional revenue.

Additional Resources

The House Research Organization just came out with a great background piece on writing the state budget: https://hro.house.texas.gov/pdf/focus/writing87.pdf(Links to an external site.)

Here's the House Research Organization's breakdown of this year's budget bill: https://hro.house.texas.gov/pdf/focus/2021CSSB_1.pdf(Links to an external site.)

The Legislative Budget Board's "Fiscal Size-Up" has a lot of useful information: https://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Documents/Publications/Fiscal_SizeUp/Fiscal_SizeUp_2020-21.pdf