AUSTIN (KXAN) — You’ve heard us talk about the state’s record budget surplus of $32.7 billion. A viewer reached out to KXAN via Report!t asking where the money came from.
The surplus is money expected to be left over at the end of this fiscal year.
State Comptroller Glenn Hegar has said you can thank inflation for a lot of it; people paying more for goods and services means more sales tax pouring into the state.
Hegar also pointed to spikes in energy and gas prices for some of the surplus.
In total, lawmakers will have about $188 billion in revenue to spend for the 2024-25 biennium, an increase of 26% from the last go-around.
But Hegar has said don’t expect the state to see money like this again any time soon.
“Bluntly, don’t count on me announcing another big revenue jump two years from now,” Hegar said back in January. “The revenue increases that we’ve seen have been, in many ways, unprecedented, and we cannot reasonably expect a repeat.”
“This budgeting session is truly a once-in-a-lifetime session,” he added.
We’ve mentioned Republican leads would like to use some of this money for property tax relief — details to be worked out.
In a statement ahead of the legislative session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said it’s “imperative” to “save a sizeable portion for the future.”
Democrats have told KXAN while they’re not against property tax relief, they’re laser-focused on increasing investments in public education.
Stay tuned.