Texas Legislature has Productive Session, Thanks to Positive Revenue Picture and Bipartisanship

The 86th Texas Legislature convened on January 8 and adjourned for the last time on May 27. The intervening 140 days bore witness to an active and productive legislative session, with real progress made in addressing some of our state’s major challenges.

Two significant circumstances influenced the direction of the session from the beginning. The first was that this was a year of strong state revenues and increased flexibility in the budget-writing process. In the Biennial Revenue Estimate, the comptroller certified that Texas had significantly more revenue than anticipated, thanks in large part to a strong economy resulting in higher sales and severance tax receipts.