By Lauren Fairbanks and J Pete Laney
TAD Governmental Affairs
We are just a few weeks from Election Day, and early voting starts Oct. 21. This also means the start of the 89th Legislative Session is right around the corner. Interim legislative committees have been in full swing and, if you ask us, it already feels like the session has started. With the hearing agendas, the issues that will define the 140-day session are starting to come into focus.
It is forecasted that Texas will once again be blessed with a large surplus of money, but what does that really mean? It means that there will be many hands out, but no handouts. Agencies still have to justify their funding requests for the biennium, and those asks have to be in line with what the Legislature can actually spend. Texas has spending caps set out in both the Texas Constitution and in statute. Remember, the Texas Constitution only requires the Legislature to do one thing each session, and that is to pass a two-year balanced budget.
All eyes will be on the Texas Comptroller in early January to answer the money question. Just before session convenes, he will issue the Biennial Revenue Estimate to project the amount of revenue available for lawmakers to spend on state programs through the following biennium.
As stated, there will be a lot of hands out. With Texas’ booming economy and population growth, plus the size and scope of natural disasters impacting the state, there is never a shortage of needs to address. As of late, leading up to every session there is an unforeseen event that dominates the discussion in the Capitol. In recent history it has been COVID, historic hurricanes or winter storms, and, going into this session, the largest wildfire in the state’s history.
Texas has the world’s eighth largest economy and, even with all the state’s diversified industry growth, agriculture still ranks second only behind oil and gas when it comes to economic impact. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas leads the nation with nearly 250,000 farms and ranches covering over 125 million acres of the land, and 93% of Texas agricultural operations are still operated by individuals or families.
With at least 34 new members of the Texas Legislature, and much of the experienced rural representation not returning, there may be a steep learning curve when it comes to issues impacting rural Texas and agriculture. The Texas Association of Dairymen (TAD) and our friends across the agriculture sector have continued to focus on educating lawmakers as we embark on the 89th Legislative Session. TAD continues to work to make a difference for our hard-working agriculture producer families that have made Texas the No. 3 milk producing state in the country.
