AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Proposed cutbacks to border security and no extra funding for public schools is how Texas lawmakers are starting to tackle a cash crunch caused by sagging oil prices.
But Texas’ embattled child welfare system would get a $260 million boost under spending plans released Tuesday by the House and Senate. A growing backlog of child abuse and neglect cases has worsened a crisis despite reforms initiated by Gov. Greg Abbott.
The proposals are mere starting points to budget talks that will drag through May. But the first drafts already reveal differences between the Republican-controlled House and Senate, which must come together before Abbott signs a new budget.
A prolonged oil slump has left Texas about $6 billion shy of what the state needs just to preserve current services.
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