The Chron reports on the projected $9.1 billion shortfall in the states' biennial budget:
Saying Texas can’t escape the turmoil of the national economy, Comptroller Susan Combs told lawmakers Monday they’ll have $9.1 billion less to spend as they work to pay for services over the next two years.
“Texas might have sidestepped a slight or moderate downturn in the national economy, but the effects of what may become the worst national recession in many decades will be too large to avoid.
“The state is not immune to the economic forces wreaking havoc in other sections of the country,” Combs said in report to legislators, who convene today for the start of the 2009 session.
Combs called her forecast, which determines how much lawmakers can spend on the state budget, “decidedly cautious” given continuing tumult in the national economy, auto industry, housing and financial markets.
The shortfall is expected to force legislators to trim their agenda. Goals for higher education and healthcare may be pushed off to the side. Estimates have been revised in the past. Comptrollers have a habit of being pessimistic prior to the start of legislative sessions, but no one is predicting a healthy economy in 2009, so this estimate may not change that much.
To see the report yourself, click here.
