House approves $337B state budget

The Texas House early Friday morning passed a roughly $337 billion budget that will fund the state for the next two years with large chunks of money going towards education, health services and border security.

The House passed the budget around 3 a.m. Friday morning after more than 13 hours of debate and hundreds of proposed amendments from both sides of the aisles.

The budget remains close to the Senate’s version, though several changes were made on the floor that will require negotiations between the two chambers before it can be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. The House passed the bill 118-26 with 19 Republicans and 7 Democrats voting against the bill.

What they're saying:

"Proud of my colleagues for staying the course and putting in the work for Texas," House Speaker Dustin Burrows said. "With the leadership of Chairman Bonnen and the Appropriations Committee, the House has put forth a fiscally responsible budget that stays well within state spending limits while making smart investments in our top priorities."

Not everyone was onboard with the budget.

Rep. Brian Harrison was another Republican that spoke out against the bill.

"This is the most bloated, liberal, reckless budget in the history of Texas," Harrison said.

Texas Lottery

Close to 400 amendments were filed during the House budget debate Thursday. 53 amendments were considered on the floor and 35 were approved. 

One amendment that passed would eliminate around $1 billion in funding for the Texas Lottery Commission and for economic development and tourism in the governor’s office. 

As of late, the lottery's integrity has come into question for allowing courier companies to sell lotto tickets through a smartphone app.

When asked about the move, a spokesperson for the commission told FOX 4 it "respects the legislative process and has no comment to provide."

Public education and school vouchers

The House budget allotted $75.6 billion to the Foundation School Program, which provides most of the funding to the state’s public schools.

The $1 billion Education Savings Account program, which would allow families to use public money to pay for private school tuition, remained funded.

Thriving Texas Families

Another that passed was an amendment that would move $70 million from the state’s Medicaid spending to fund Thriving Texas Families. The program provides counseling and education to parents "facing an unexpected pregnancy."

Border Security

Additional border security accounts for $6.5 billion in the new budget.

The figure was questioned by some Democrats.

"How long is this going to continue? $11 billion has been spent already. Governor Abbott says he’s trying to ask for a refund from the federal government. Now, Governor Abbott’s friend is in the White House, but there’s no refund in the mailbox," said Rep. John Bryant (D-Dallas).

Property Tax Relief

The budget would shell out another $51 billion, or 15 percent of the total deal for property tax relief.

Republican Rep. Mike Olcott, who represents Palo Pinto, Parker and Stephens counties, argued the deadly wasn't good enough.

"I’ve knocked on more than 10,000 doors in my district over the last three years, and other than the border, property taxes comes up over and over and over again," Olcott said. "I cannot go back to my district and say that with a $24 billion surplus, this is as much property tax that we can do."

What's next:

Lawmakers from both the House and Senate will begin closed-door negotiations to iron out the differences and develop a final version of the budget for consideration.

Once approved by both chambers, it must then be approved by Gov. Greg Abbott, who also has veto power.

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