AUSTIN – Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) issued the following statement about Senate Bill 1, the Senate’s base budget filed today by Senator Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), Chair of the Senate Finance Committee during the 84th Legislative Session:

“Senator Jane Nelson’s hard, tireless work over the interim to come up with a base budget plan is evident today in Senate Bill 1, which allocates $103.6 billion out of an available $104.9 billion for the next biennium.”

This budget includes:
4 percent savings in agency budgets
Increased education allotments, including new student growth of 80,000
Allocation of funds to address the critical needs of Child Protective Services
Maintains current border presence

“I look forward to working on these priorities,” Senator Bettencourt said. “Senate Bill 1 will be the second consecutive budget in a row. Last session’s budget was also conservative and less than inflation and population growth for general and general dedicated funds. This was a great advantage leading to the economic slowdown that we are experiencing now.”