In July, Texas' top elected officials directed most state agencies, appellate courts and public universities to cut spending by 3% in their base budget requests for the next two years.
The overview: Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows said those reductions will help Texas hold a "strong fiscal position" by expanding property tax relief and maintaining public education funding when the legislature returns to Austin next year.
The issue: Dozens of agency leaders have warned that the cuts, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, are not sustainable. They would cause Texas residents to lose "essential" services and lead to losses in state revenue, leaders said at the capitol and in budget documents.
Government institutions protesting the budget reductions include the comptroller's office, the attorney general, Texas' Cancer Prevention and Research Institute, state criminal justice agencies and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
