Watch: With historic sum for the next budget, Texas’ chief treasurer says state should prioritize infrastructure

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Investing in infrastructure, expanding broadband and raising teacher pay are some areas where Texas should spend its projected $188.2 billion in general revenue, a historic haul for funding state business over the 2024-25 biennium, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said Monday at a Texas Tribune event.

“These are imperative things that we look at,” Hegar said. “How can we address these issues with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?”

Hours before the event, Hegar announced the state’s biennial revenue estimate, which tells state lawmakers how much they’ll have to spend when they write a new two-year budget in 2023. The record figure represents a 26% increase from what the state’s lawmakers had at their disposal during the last budget cycle and includes a historic $32.7 billion surplus, thanks largely to inflation and increases in tax revenue from oil and gas production.

Lawmakers will have to decide where this money should be spent during the next legislative session, which kicks off Tuesday. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have already said they want to use the surplus on property tax relief; other state officials and advocates have called for the surplus to be used on public education or the power grid.

Read more about the state’s record-breaking revenue growth and what it means for the next budget cycle here.

Disclosure: The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization, is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.