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By Kate Alexander , Jason Embry
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
State agencies asked to cut 2.5% from current budgets
Some state agencies will need to make cuts in their current budgets for Texas to save as much as $500 million, legislative leaders said Monday.
House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst instructed agencies to offer spending reductions of about 2.5 percent in their budgets for 2009.
But, if possible, the reductions will not be applied uniformly. The leaders said they want to preserve funding for certain "essential" programs, such as basic school funding, children's health insurance and Medicaid.
Those exceptions will save from the chopping block some of the biggest ticket items in the $40 billion annual general fund budget.
Other agencies, including the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, will probably escape the knife because they have requested emergency money to make it through the current budget year, which ends Aug. 31, Dewhurst said.
A Dewhurst spokesman said he had no indication that the proposed cuts would lead to job losses.
"The Legislature needs to be mindful of the uncertain economic conditions around us and every family in Texas," the letter to agencies says. "Texas is doing better than almost every other state, but we must always be prudent with taxpayer dollars, and leave a reasonable reserve in the rainy day fund to ensure we do not face a large deficit in the 2011 session."
The rainy day fund is expected to have $9.1 billion available for the upcoming 2010-11 budget.