The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy the Honorable Talmadge Heflin issued the following statement on the state revenue data for fiscal 2016 that ended in August released yesterday by the Texas Comptroller:
“The state’s revenue picture for fiscal 2016 proves again that passing a conservative budget last session while providing substantial tax relief was the right thing to do for Texans,” said Heflin. “Although the Comptroller noted that general revenue-related funds were down by $651 million compared with the projections in the CRE in the first year of the budget period, the 84th Legislature left an estimated $4.1 billion above expenditures on the table for both years. This leaves more than $3 billion in potential surplus for any further drops in revenue compared with the CRE.
Heflin continued, “Legislators avoided placing the state in a dire fiscal situation by passing a conservative budget that left them with room to provide tax relief, which collectively supported more economic activity. The 85th Legislature should build on this momentum to improve the well-being of Texans by strongly considering the Conservative Texas Budget Coalition’s recommendations of a second consecutive conservative budget and other key reforms.”
The Honorable Talmadge Heflin is Director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin. In the 78th Session, Heflin served as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and navigated a $10 billion state budget shortfall through targeted spending cuts that allowed Texans to avoid a tax increase.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.
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