We know back-to-school season is busy! If you missed our first Elevate & Advocate updates, take a moment to catch up on our Inside the Texas Legislature series.

Each edition is designed to build your understanding of the legislative process—helping you become more familiar with how bills move, where decisions are made, and how school counselors can effectively engage and advocate along the way.

CATCH UP ON THE SERIES

The State Budget — The Most Important Bill Passed Every Session

Every legislative session, thousands of bills are filed proposing new programs, changing state law, and addressing issues important to Texans. But there is one piece of legislation lawmakers must pass: the state budget.

The General Appropriations Act determines how Texas will spend state and federal dollars over the next two-year budget cycle, or biennium. It funds everything from public schools and healthcare to public safety, natural resources, regulatory agencies, and the basic operations of state government.

And while policy debates often generate the headlines, the budget determines whether many of those policies can actually become reality.

THE BOTTOM LINE

In Texas, policy without funding is often just an idea.

Texas Budgets Two Years at a Time

Texas operates on a biennial budget. That means the Legislature generally makes spending decisions for the next two fiscal years during each regular legislative session.

But the budget process does not begin when lawmakers arrive at the Capitol. State agencies prepare Legislative Appropriations Requests (LARs) that identify base funding needs and requests above the base budget, commonly called Exceptional Items. Exceptional Items may include additional or new spending, capital needs, or restoration of funding.

Where Does the Money Come From?

The state budget uses several Methods of Finance. The Budget Primer identifies the major sources as:

• General Revenue - state funds available for appropriation.
• General Revenue-Dedicated Funds - state revenues dedicated for particular purposes.
• Federal Funds - federal dollars available for eligible state programs and activities.
• Other Receipts and Funds - other sources available to agencies and programs.

The source matters because not every dollar can be used in the same way.

How the Budget Moves Through the Legislature

The Legislative Budget Board: Building the Starting Point

The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) develops recommendations that form the base bill and starting point for legislative budget deliberations. The base bill considers agency requests and state needs, but it is only the beginning of the process.

House Appropriations and Senate Finance

Each chamber begins with its respective version of the budget. The House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance Committee review agency funding and make changes through the budget 'markup' process.

After committee work, each chamber debates and passes its version of the General Appropriations Act.

Two Chambers. Two Budgets. One Final Bill.

The House and Senate versions are not always identical. A Conference Committee reconciles differences between the two chambers and produces the final budget proposal for consideration by both chambers.

A program or priority may receive funding in one chamber's version and not the other. That makes conference negotiations one of the most consequential stages of the budget process.

The Budget Is More Than Numbers

The Texas budget is organized into 12 Articles. Major policy areas include General Government, Health and Human Services, Education, Judiciary, Public Safety and Criminal Justice, Natural Resources, Economic Development, Regulatory agencies, and general provisions.

Within those Articles are methods of finance, full-time-equivalent positions, goals and strategies, objects of expense, riders, contingency riders, and performance measures.

Why Funding Decisions Drive Policy

Passing legislation and funding legislation are two different things. A new program, expanded service, or additional agency responsibility may still depend on whether lawmakers provide the resources necessary to implement it.

That is why experienced advocates follow both the policy bill and the appropriations process. Sometimes the most consequential question at the Capitol is not, 'Did the bill pass?' It is: 'Did they fund it?'

Why This Matters

The Budget Primer identifies multiple points where stakeholders can influence the process: agency LARs, different stages of legislative budget development, Exceptional Items, riders, and efforts to restore funding. Understanding when those decisions are made is essential to effective advocacy.

The dollar amount is only part of the story. Next, we look at how riders and other budget language can direct agency spending, outcomes, collaboration, administration, and reporting.

Riders, Appropriations, and the Power of Budget Language

When most people think about the state budget, they think about numbers. But some of the most important decisions in the budget are not numbers at all. They are words.

Those words often appear in provisions known as riders, and understanding riders is essential to understanding how the Texas Legislature uses the budget to influence state government.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The appropriation tells an agency how much it can spend.The rider can tell the agency what the Legislature expects in return.

Understanding Appropriations & Riders

Understanding how legislation is developed and filed helps stakeholders engage more effectively in the policymaking process.

Successful legislation often begins long before a bill number is assigned. Building relationships, educating lawmakers, and developing solutions during the interim frequently lays the groundwork for success once session begins.

What Is an Appropriation?

An appropriation is legislative authorization for a state agency or institution to spend money for a particular purpose. The budget organizes funding by agencies, methods of finance, staffing, goals and strategies, objects of expense, performance measures, and other provisions.

In other words, lawmakers decide not only how much funding is available, but also how that funding is structured.

What Is a Rider?

A rider is language included in the General Appropriations Act that provides direction related to appropriated funds. The Budget Primer describes riders as a way to provide direction to an agency on spending, outcomes, collaboration, and administration.

A rider can address:

• How certain appropriated funds are used.
• Expected outcomes or reporting.
• Collaboration or coordination.
• Program administration.
• The use of existing funds or newly appropriated dollars.
• Grants or additional federal or other funds.

Why Are Riders Important?

The appropriation provides the money. The rider provides direction associated with that money. For stakeholders, riders can therefore be important tools for clarifying legislative expectations and obtaining information about how an agency carries out funded activities.

Contingency Riders

The Budget Primer also identifies contingency riders as a feature of the budget. These provisions can connect budget authority or funding to another legislative action or condition, linking the policy and appropriations processes.

Beyond the Base Budget

Exceptional Items: Asking for More

Exceptional Items are requests beyond an agency's base budget. According to the Budget Primer, they may include additional spending, new spending, capital budget needs, or restoration of funds.

For stakeholders, Exceptional Items can provide an early look at where agencies are seeking additional resources before the Legislature makes final funding decisions.

Article XI: The 'Wish List'

The Budget Primer identifies Article XI as the budget's 'Wish List.' Items placed there remain part of the budget conversation but are not the same as receiving final funding. They may continue to be considered as negotiations move forward.

Why Stakeholders Follow Budget Language

Following the budget requires more than checking whether a dollar amount increased or decreased. Stakeholders also watch riders, Exceptional Items, contingency riders, performance measures, agency strategies, and conference decisions.

Sometimes a few lines of budget language can be just as important to implementation as the dollar amount attached to a program.

READ THE LANGUAGE UNDERNEATH IT

Experienced advocates do not stop at the appropriation amount. They examine the riders and other instructions that shape how the money may be used.

Why This Matters

The Texas budget is more than a spending document. It is also a mechanism through which the Legislature provides direction on spending, outcomes, collaboration, administration, and accountability.

That is why understanding appropriations language matters: sometimes the most important policy direction is found not only in statute, but in the budget itself.

Want to see the Texas budget process in action?

Take a few minutes to watch Following the Money and connect the pieces—from appropriations and funding decisions to the budget language that can ultimately shape policy and implementation.

Watch Video!

Ready to Dig Deeper?

Understanding the budget process helps advocates recognize when, where, and how funding decisions are made. Keep the Texas Budget Primer as a quick-reference resource for navigating the budget cycle, appropriations process, riders, Exceptional Items, and opportunities for stakeholder influence.

VIEW THE TEXAS BUDGET PRIMER

What School Counselors Should Know

Effective advocacy doesn't stop when a bill passes. A policy may establish a new program, service, or responsibility—but implementation can still depend on whether lawmakers provide the resources to support it.

As school counselor advocates, we must learn to ask two questions:

Did the policy pass?

Did they fund it?

Understanding both sides of the legislative process helps us advocate more strategically for the students, schools, and communities we serve.