Eighty-eight Texas state agencies outside higher education asked for $4.27 billion less in general revenue base requests for the 90th Legislative Session, a 2.9 percent decrease below current appropriation levels. The same agencies then requested $13.26 billion through 744 separate exceptional items, which are priorities above each agency's baseline limit. Texas Policy Research said the net change in total requests is $8.99 billion, and that agencies are asking the Legislature for 6.17 percent more general revenue than their current funding.
The think tank said the reduction is smaller than it appears. According to its analysis, seven agencies account for $6.08 billion of the decline, while the other 81 agencies raised their base requests by $1.80 billion. It said nearly all of the seven-agency decline comes from one-time appropriations, much of it from a supplemental spending bill passed in the 89th Legislative Session in 2025.
The requests follow a July 14 directive from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows. The letter required agencies to cut base requests by 3 percent and exempted items including public education, debt service, pensions, Medicaid, CHIP, foster care and the Texas Education Savings Account Program. Democrat Gina Hinojosa, the governor-elect, has called the savings account program a "voucher scam."