Legislative Services

The supplemental and two-year budgets passed by the 89th Legislature, House Bill 500 and Senate Bill 1, respectively, appropriate hundreds of millions of dollars that will flow to counties, primarily through grants.

From the county perspective, however, these budgets do not include significant funding increases for nondiscretionary programs such as indigent defense or payments to offset losses in property tax revenue because of the disabled veterans tax exemption.

Nonetheless, the Legislature funded new initiatives that benefit all Texans and rural counties in particular. Notable among these are the new rural EMS grant program and funding to eliminate the backlog in grants to rural volunteer fire departments for vehicles and equipment.

Throughout the session, the Texas Association of Counties tracked budget items of interest to county officials in HB 500 and SB 1. This worksheet shows the final budget amounts for county-related items. Where applicable, the budget amounts have been adjusted to reflect vetoes issued by Gov. Greg Abbott.

For questions about the worksheet or other state fiscal matters, please contact Zelma Smith.