Another Supplemental Appropriations Bill Filed

HB 1025 marks the second supplemental appropriations bill filed within the last 30 days by Rep. Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie), chair of the House Appropriations Committee. HB 1025, as filed, sweeps numerous unencumbered accounts across Article II (Health and Human Services) programs, including an array of community colleges accounts from the current General Appropriations Act (GAA), which ends Aug. 31, 2013.

Roughly $122.6 million of general revenue will be swept back into the state’s coffer – to possibly offset several of the larger supplemental appropriation items in HB 1025. Three of the most significant appropriated items include the following:

• Section 10: $1.54 million appropriated to the Veterans Commission for the strike force teams to combat the backlog of claims in Houston and Waco and to hire additional counselors to be located in hospitals and clinics operated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 
   
• Section 15: $39 million appropriated to the Department of Criminal Justice for the Correctional Managed Health Care Program.
   
• Section 19: $161 million appropriated to the Texas A&M Forest Services for fighting the wildfires that occurred in 2011.

In total, HB 1025 appropriates $215 million to meet current obligations for fiscal years 2012-13, but the net impact to general revenue will only be $92.4 million ($215 million minus $122.6 million).

For more information on HB 1025, contact Paul Emerson, TAC state financial analyst, at (800) 456-5974.