TX House Olcott: Budget Day In The Texas House, 89th Legislative Congress.
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Summary: Budget Day Report from Mike Olcott, House Representative for Texas House District 60, which includes Willow Park. "It is becoming more apparent every day that scheming to block any input from conservatives is the modus operandi of House leadership. Unfortunately, despite beginning with a $24 billion surplus that belongs to Texas taxpayers, it appropriated only $6.5 billion in new property tax relief!! I could not support it and was the first to the front mic to express my opposition."
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Budget Day In The Texas House
Dear Supporter and Friend,
Last Thursday (April 10) was Budget Day for the Texas House of Representatives - the day that we voted on the amount of money that is appropriated by the Texas Legislature for the next biennium (2026-2027). It is an enormous document (bill) that also dictates how and where we spend taxpayer money. Because most members are not a part of the appropriations committee that construct this bill, Budget Day provides the best opportunity for other members to affect spending because one normally has an opportunity to propose amendments to the budget. These amendments typically seek to defund bad policy or add funding to good policy.
Many of my conservative colleagues got together during the week prior to Budget Day and crafted more than one hundred conservative amendments that we hoped could become incorporated into the budget bill (SB 1). I drafted the following 8 amendments:
SB 1 Amendments by Olcott
• At the end of the fiscal year, move unexpended dollars from DIR’s Texas.gov project to property tax relief.
• Require the Health and Human Services Commission to provide the legislature with data on the cost and impact of uncompensated care for illegal aliens.
• At the end of the fiscal year, move unexpended dollars from the Communities in Schools budget to property tax relief.
• Require the Texas Education Agency to provide the legislature with estimates on the cost and impact of students who are not legal citizens enrolled in public schools.
• Reduce the travel budget of the Teacher Retirement System (nearly $3 million per year) by 30%.
• Strike the funding of the Institute of Texan Cultures program and the Texas Demographic Center program at UT San Antonio and give that money to the Texas Water Development Board for additional salaries to increase the Board’s ability to deliver on water infrastructure projects.
• Strike the funding of the Center for Socioeconomic Mobility at University of North Texas at Dallas and give that money to property tax relief.
• Require the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide the legislature with a report on the cost and impact of incarcerated individuals who are here illegally.
House leadership required us to pre-file our amendments 72 hours in advance. Undoubtedly, the purpose was for them to have the opportunity to figure out how to counter them. It is becoming more apparent every day that passes that scheming to block any input from conservatives is the modus operandi of House leadership. This was the case back in January when leadership released a 230-page document of House Rules of Procedure (HR 4) at 4:40 AM the same day we were to vote on them. As I described in an earlier email, HR 4 was the resolution that gave Democrats more power than they had the previous session, including allowing Democrat Chairs for Subcommittees.
Last Thursday, we gaveled in at 9:00 AM and began voting on some ordinary bills. Around noon, our attention turned to the budget (SB 1). Overall, more than 390 amendments had been pre-filed. The first action taken by leadership was to make a motion to Suspend the Rules which we learned gave them the authority to move most of our conservative amendments to Article 11 of the budget which is considered the graveyard for amendments. It required a vote and so we requested a record vote:
As you can see, conservatives lost the vote and most of our conservative amendments were moved to Article 11. Hence we could not debate them or adopt them. The only way that they can be adopted into the budget is if the handful of Senators and House members involved in the conference report (negotiations between the House and Senate versions of the budget) decide to incorporate them into the final version which rarely happens.
At this point, we began the marathon of debating a bunch of amendments that leadership deemed worthy of debate including many Democrat amendments.
After 15 hours of debate and the adoption of amendments, it was time to finally vote on the $337 billion budget (Federal and State funds). Unfortunately, despite beginning with a $24 billion surplus that belongs to Texas taxpayers, it appropriated only $6.5 billion in new property tax relief!! I could not support it and was the first to the front mic to express my opposition. You can click on the picture or one of the links below to hear my two-minute speech in opposition. You will likely be able to notice that it was 3 AM.
[See attached .pdf of email.]
Video links:
The following is the record vote for SB1.
State funds grew 42.8% from the 2021 budget ($166.27 billion) to the 2025 ($237.41 billion). That is an increase of $71.1 billion in new spending.
With too much spending and too little surplus money being returned to our district in the form of property tax relief, I felt compelled to vote NO on the budget.I will continue to fight for property tax relief.
For Texas and our Nation,
Mike Olcott
(817) 727-1869
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