HB 93 would revise Texas’s statutory spending-limit framework for state and local appropriations. The bill redefines and expands the categories of appropriations subject to limitation, including “all funds appropriations” from state and local treasury sources, and directs the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) to calculate spending limits using population growth plus inflation, with chained CPI referenced for inflation calculations. It also adds procedures for setting limits, handling cases where growth rates are negative, and requiring the LBB to adopt the limits before transmitting budget recommendations.
The bill further makes the spending cap more binding by limiting budget recommendations to the adopted limits unless specifically authorized, and it changes the constitutional-resolution process for exceeding the limit. Most notably, it adds a new directive that any over-collected taxpayer money shall be returned by reducing taxes. The bill applies beginning with the state fiscal biennium starting September 1, 2025, and would affect future state budgets and, by its text, local political subdivisions as well.
Impact
HB 93 would amend multiple provisions in Chapter 316 of the Government Code, altering how Texas measures and enforces limits on appropriations from state tax revenues and, more broadly, all funds appropriations. It would place additional duties on the Legislative Budget Board to calculate and publish spending limits, constrain budget recommendations, and tie allowable growth to population and inflation benchmarks. The bill would also affect state and local fiscal planning by extending the limitation framework to political subdivisions and by requiring tax reductions when taxpayer money is collected beyond what is needed under the bill’s approach.
Sentiment
The available record contains no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no direct evidence of debate, support, or opposition from the legislative process provided here. Based on the bill text alone, the measure reflects a strongly fiscally conservative approach focused on limiting government growth and returning excess collections to taxpayers. The overall tone of the proposal is prescriptive and restrictive, emphasizing automatic limits and tax reduction rather than discretionary spending expansion.
Contention
The main points of contention likely concern the breadth and rigidity of the spending limits, especially the bill’s expansion from state tax revenues to all funds appropriations and its application to political subdivisions. Another likely issue is the requirement that over-collected taxpayer money be returned through tax reductions, which could be disputed by lawmakers who prefer retaining flexibility for reserves, emergencies, or program funding. The bill also raises procedural concerns by making LBB budget transmission contingent on adopting the limits and by setting a high threshold for exceeding them, which could be viewed as constraining legislative discretion.
Proposing a constitutional amendment concerning the limitation on the rate of growth in state and local appropriations with the return of over-collected taxpayer money by reducing taxes.
Proposing a constitutional amendment concerning the limitation on the rate of growth in state and local appropriations with the return of over-collected taxpayer money by reducing taxes.