Comptroller Hegar issues revised Biennial Revenue Estimate

by Josh Haney
This afternoon, Comptroller Glenn Hegar revised his January Biennial Revenue Estimate – lawmakers’ guide to what the state has to spend in the coming biennium. The news was good. Texas is on-track to finish this biennium with a $0.73 billion surplus (January’s prediction showed Texas with a 2020-21 shortfall of around $1 billion). For the next biennium, budget writers will have over $3 billion more in general-purpose spending than was originally predicted back in January. 

This revenue estimate does not include any savings from cuts that state agencies made last summer (back at the outset of the pandemic, when the state was on track to be several billion dollars in the red). The estimate does not take into account the $40 billion of additional federal relief funds either. 

Revisions to the BRE at this time in the legislative session are not customary. With the uncertainty of oil and natural gas production and the impact of the pandemic on the Texas economy, the Comptroller has issued more updates over the last year as things have evolved and he has collected more data. This particular update comes at a key time; House and Senate conferees are hard at work coming up with the final 2022-23 budget. Supplemental spending in HB 2 is also nearing the legislative finish line.

To read the Comptroller’s letter about the revised BRE, read here. To explore more infographics and to learn more about the elements of the revised BRE, click here.