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House Bill 1 |
House Author: Bonnen |
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Effective: See below |
Senate Sponsor: Huffman et al. |
House Bill 1, the General Appropriations Act, as passed by the legislature, appropriated approximately $321.3 billion for the 2024‑2025 state fiscal biennium. However, following the regular session, the governor exercised his line‑item veto authority to veto Section 17.36 of Article IX of the bill, which prohibited the executive director of the Texas Lottery Commission from allowing the order, purchase, or sale of lottery tickets by telephone, including facilitating the sale of tickets via an application on a phone. The governor also vetoed Section 18.76 of Article IX, a contingency rider for Senate Joint Resolution 81, which did not pass. As a result of the line-item vetoes, roughly $320.3 billion of the amount originally appropriated ultimately became law as part of the biennial state budget, of which $172.2 billion is for state fiscal year 2024 and $148.1 billion is for state fiscal year 2025. Those amounts include all funding sources except interagency contracts. (Figures and percentages may not add up due to rounding.)
Of the total amount appropriated, more than $149.9 billion, or roughly 46.7 percent, is derived from general revenue, both dedicated and nondedicated. Another $102.3 billion, or 31.8 percent, represents federal funding, while the remaining $68.1 billion, or 21.2 percent, comes from other funds. The $320.3 billion budgetary total for the 2024-2025 biennium represents an increase of just over 29 percent compared to the budget approved for the 2022‑2023 biennium.
Legislative appropriations for major governmental functions and services for the 2024‑2025 biennium compared with appropriations for the 2022-2023 biennium are as follows, listed by budgetary article:
· Article I ‑ General Government receives $10.9 billion, an increase of 58 percent;
· Article II ‑ Health and Human Services receives $102.2 billion, an increase of 17.9 percent;
· Article III ‑ Agencies of Education receives $99.4 billion, an increase of 6.3 percent;
· Article IV ‑ The Judiciary receives $1.2 billion, an increase of 29.3 percent;
· Article V ‑ Public Safety and Criminal Justice receives $18.9 billion, an increase of 46.5 percent;
· Article VI ‑ Natural Resources receives $8.6 billion, an increase of 14.7 percent;
· Article VII ‑ Business and Economic Development receives $45.9 billion, an increase of 25.8 percent;
· Article VIII ‑ Regulatory receives $921.7 million, an increase of 26.6 percent;
· Article IX ‑ General Provisions receives $32.9 billion, an increase of 1,270.8 percent; and
· Article X - The Legislature receives $489.8 million, an increase of 55.2 percent.
As part of the appropriations included in Article IX, the bill provides for a five percent annual salary increase for most state employees effective September 1, 2023, with a minimum increase of $3,000, and another five percent annual salary increase effective September 1, 2024, with a minimum increase of $3,000. Additionally, Article IX contains the state employee position classification plan and salary schedule for the 2024‑2025 biennium.
Except for Sections 17.36 and 18.76 of Article IX, which do not take effect due to the governor's vetoes, House Bill 1 takes effect September 1, 2023.
Governor's Reason for Veto of Section 17.36 of Article IX: ". . . Section 17.36 of Article IX is unconstitutional. Section 17.36 purports to tell the Lottery Commission that it must issue a new rule on a particular subject. This attempt to make general law in the General Appropriations Act violates Article III, Section 35 of the Texas Constitution. A similar command to the Lottery Commission was proposed in Senate Bill 1820, but the Legislature did not pass that bill."
Governor's Reason for Veto of Section 18.76 of Article IX: "This veto deletes a contingency rider for a joint resolution that did not pass."