As Texas economy sputters, will rainy day fund rescue state government?
Asher Price, Austin American-Statesman Published 1:02 p.m. CT March 30, 2020 Texas voters approved the rainy day fund’s creation in 1988 as an emergency piggy bank to rescue state government in case future leaders faced the sort of oil and gas crash that beset the state budget in the 1980s.
Now, with another sharp drop in oil prices — combined with the far-reaching effects of the coronavirus — wreaking havoc on the state’s economy, will Gov. Greg Abbott see fit to dip into the $8.5 billion dollar fund?
He’s not saying.
Comptroller Glenn Hegar, who provides state leaders with revenue projections, is already sounding alarm bells, saying he expects rainy day fund spending to be necessary to keep up core government work.
Unemployment numbers mount; restaurants and retail stores are shuttered; and oil prices remain in the cellar, down by two-thirds since January. With sales and other consumption taxes making up the lion’s share of state general revenues, a $3 billion budget surplus projected by Hegar last year has evaporated.
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https://www.gosanangelo.com/story/news/2020/03/30/texas-economy-sputters-rainy-day-fund-rescue-government/5088437002/
