In the first comprehensive glimpse of how the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic will affect key state services, an August state budget document obtained by the American-Statesman lays out how agencies proposed meeting 5% cuts demanded by the state’s Republican leadership in May.
Those cuts are the fallout of a plunge in tax revenues as businesses shuttered. Travel and entertainment spending plummeted, hitting hotel occupancy and alcoholic beverage taxes particularly hard. Oil and gas tax revenues took a nosedive in the wake of collapsing world demand and a Saudi Arabia-Russia production dispute.
Comptroller Glenn Hegar in July projected a budget shortfall of $4.58 billion for the fiscal year that ended Monday, with revenue falling further behind spending during the 2021 fiscal year.
Source: Budget plan offers glimpse at state agency cuts / Daily Light