April 24, 2021
For Immediate Release
(Austin, TX) – After a full day of debate on Thursday, the Texas House unanimously approved the state’s budget for the 2022-2023 biennium.
The budget, or SB 1, was previously approved by the Senate on April 6th and totaled to over $250 billion. House members filed nearly 250 amendments prior to the debate on the House floor and eventually settled on a bill that came in slightly lower at nearly $247 billion spent over the next biennium, and reduces state spending by almost seven percent.
SB 1 will now head to conference committee where members from both chambers will come together to work out the differences between both bills before sending the budget to Governor Abbott.
“Although there is still a long road ahead of the state financially, it is a relief to have the budget debate behind us. I am proud of the Texas House for maintaining school finance obligations that were passed last session, prioritizing Texas’ retired teachers, and fully funding border security, to name a few,” said Rep. Patterson. “There will be many more fiscal decisions to come as billions of dollars of federal funding from the pandemic flow down to Texas. Although how that process will be handled has not been decided, the House did unanimously adopt an amendment that would trigger a special session to appropriate those federal funds.”
Jared Patterson represents House District 106, which encompasses the eastern portion of Denton County. During the 86th Legislative Session, Patterson authored and passed initiatives in policy areas such as transportation, education, property taxes, as well as eliminated unnecessary and burdensome government regulations. Patterson serves on the House Committees on Business & Industry, Calendars, and Homeland Security & Public Safety. He also serves on the Texas Cybersecurity Council. His family resides in Frisco.
