The supplemental appropriations bill, passed every legislative session, adjusts funding in the current budget and settles up shortfalls. This session’s supplemental bill, HB 500, changes some appropriations made last session and provides additional funding to supplement the 2024-25 budget. Representing $12.5 billion, the House’s initial version was amended by the Senate, and, on Friday, May 30, the House concurred with those changes. Soon the bill will be headed for the governor’s desk.
Every Texan believes our state’s taxpayer dollars are best spent on smart, long-term investments that benefit all Texans. A primary goal of our People’s Budget project is to engage everyday Texans in the budget process and to ensure their priorities help drive our legislative advocacy.
Overall, the supplemental budget for 2024-25 makes some strong investments in education, state facilities, medical science and research, information technology, and our natural resources and disaster mitigation. Yet, the final bill misses the mark on a few items and excludes some items we supported in earlier drafts of the bill (noted below). From the perspective of Every Texan, and of a People’s Budget, the bill’s most significant funding items are listed below.
Health Care
- $1.3 billion to the three Article II agencies (DSHS, HHSC, DFPS) to expand laboratory capacity, expand facilities and services, and deal with budget shortfalls. This includes a $750 million for Medicaid not present in the earlier House version of the bill.
Education
- $1.1 billion for the Foundation School Program to settle up public school entitlements according to updated projections. This final amount is considerably more than what was provided in the House’s version ($389 million). But the Senate removed a House provision of $934.5 million to make up for a decrease in federal SHARS funding, which provides Medicaid-funded reimbursements for schools for delivering health care services to special education students. Recently, the federal government dialed back funding to school districts for these services; while HB 2 provides some additional special education funding, it is not enough to make up for that lost funding.
- $1.3 billion to the Texas University Fund, an endowment that provides research funding for Texas’s higher ed institutions.
- $89.5 million in increased funding for THECB to cover additional needs related to HB 8 by the 88th Legislature. This bill established outcomes-based funding formula changes for community colleges.
- $90 million for medical research funding at universities.
State Workforce
- $1 billion to ERS for a legacy payment to the state pension fund. When possible, lump-sum contributions reduce the long-term cost of pensions for retired workers; this payment will save the state $3 billion in the long run.
- $369 million to the Teacher Retirement System for TRS ActiveCare.
- Excluded from the final version of HB 500, the House bill provided $100 million to the Texas Workforce Commission for local child care solutions.
- $68 million to credit the state’s Unemployment Compensation Fund.
- $31 million for vocational rehabilitation.
Natural Resources and Disaster Mitigation
- $2.5 billion for the Texas Water Fund to provide funding for projects to repair, improve, and expand water infrastructure. This is a substantial, common-sense investment in our state’s water needs, which are projected to dramatically increase as the climate warms and our population continues to grow. A centerpiece item in the supplemental, this funding is contingent on the passage of HB 16 and HJR 7.
- $135 million to the Texas Department of Emergency Management.
- $131 million for water projects that will maximize the federal funding provided through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
- $200 million for flood mitigation, originally in the House bill, is not retained in the final bill.
- $100 million to the Railroad Commission for well-plugging capacity. This program cleans up oil and gas wells that have been abandoned by the operators and may be leaking into the surrounding environment.
- $382 million to the Texas A&M Forest Service for aircraft to fight wildfires and $44 million for rural volunteer fire departments.
- The final bill does not include a House provision of $230 million to the General Land Office for the Gulf Coast Protection District, an entity that oversees and coordinates resiliency efforts across the Gulf Coast.
Other Significant Funding Items
- $724 million for IT projects in multiple agencies
- $569 million for state facilities.
- $1.3 billion to TDCJ and TJJD for inmate health care and facilities
- $466 million to TxDOT for road, rail, and aircraft projects, removing an additional $200 million provided in the House bill for port improvements.
- $87 million for TPWD.