Texas needs hundreds of thousands more homes than it has, per one estimate. That shortage has driven up home prices and rents.

Certain items can be purchased tax-free during the state of Texas’ sales tax holiday for emergency preparation supplies.

If bills now being considered pass, lawmakers will be left with $3.3 billion to take care of unforeseen costs over the next two years. Some experts worry that Texas can’t sustain its massive spending on the border and public education.

The updated comptroller’s report raises the amount of revenue available to the state over the 2024-25 cycle to $194.6 billion.

Comptroller Glenn Hegar said he disagreed with Paxton’s interpretation of the law and suggested he seek a ruling from the Texas Supreme Court.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar says the state has collected more from insurance premiums that he had previously predicted. He suggested lawmakers invest more in teacher pay raises.

You can save money on clothes and school supplies during the state’s sales tax holiday from Aug. 11-13 this year.

On the eve of a historic investment in connecting the Lone Star State, advocates worry maps that will help establish which communities get funding have bad information.

Before Abbott can review the budget that will direct the state’s spending for the next two years, the comptroller has to certify that it doesn’t spend more money than the state expects to bring in.

Following Paxton’s impeachment on Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed former Texas Secretary of State John Scott to serve as the state’s top attorney.

Voters will be asked to approve a state constitutional amendment to create the Broadband Infrastructure Fund.

Families and businesses in Texas can save money when purchasing certain water and energy-efficient products soon.

The legislation — which falls short of the $10 billion needed to ensure all Texans have reliable internet access — must still win approval in the state Senate.

The fight is the latest skirmish between Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and Harris County leaders over whether they “defunded” law enforcement.

If Texas’ budget surplus were distributed directly to Texans, it could pay for 12 years of school lunches, seven months of rent or 11,000 miles of travel. Here’s how to put the big number into perspective.

Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee announced Thursday that the county is set to file a lawsuit against Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar over “defunding the police” allegations, according to a release.

Do you have cash waiting for you? It might be a good time to check.

The preliminary budgets by House and Senate call for $130.1 billion in state spending over two years, even though tens of billions more are available to them. The bills do not bust state or constitutional spending limits.

It’s far more money than legislators have ever had at their disposal, with an increase in available funds that dwarfs any previous jumps between cycles. It’s also more money than lawmakers can constitutionally spend.

The program, known as Chapter 313, provides companies with billions of dollars in property tax breaks. The court said it is up to the Legislature to make the call on what to do as the program is set to expire and the state is swamped with applications.

Hundreds of businesses have sought tax savings from the state before the Chapter 313 program expires. Two companies say they are missing out despite being eligible.

Local officials, echoing Glenn Hegar, say the current maps are flawed and the process to lodge complaints is cumbersome.

During the campaign, Hegar touted his work on lowering taxes and expanding broadband in Texas, reforming the tax code, reducing regulations on agriculture and pushing for government transparency.

Hegar, who is running for his third term as Texas comptroller of public accounts, has made increasingly provocative moves in recent weeks, challenging financial companies he says are anti-oil and gas and threatening budget sanctions against Harris County over police funding.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called for a special meeting of the commissioners’ court Wednesday to authorize outside counsel to take legal action against state officials, including Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, in response to the comptroller’s recent claims regarding Harris County’s budgeting decisions under Chapter 120 of the Texas Local Government Code.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar singled out financial firms under a 2021 state law that prohibits most state entities from contracting with companies that have reduced or cut investments in the oil and gas industry.

Comptroller Glenn Hegar said the state could block the approval of Harris County’s budget because it’s not allowing constables to roll $3 million in unspent funds into next year’s budget — even though the constables’ total funding will go up next year.

Advocates have previously called for repealing the sales tax on products like tampons, sanitary pads and pantyliners. Menstrual products are already tax-free in 24 states.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Mitchell and Patrick about the power grid, the race for governor and the extra money the Texas Legislature will have on hand to spend next year.

The state will have an extra $27 billion in its coffers in 2023 — money that could help pay for property tax cuts and other legislative priorities.

Residents of Fort Bend County are now eligible to receive funds from the Texas Unclaimed Property program.

Like other states, Texas found out during the pandemic how critical high-speed broadband is for school, work and medicine. And the state is working to expand it — but it’s going to be at least a year before Texans start to see results.

A new law prohibits the state from contracting with or investing in companies that divest from oil, natural gas and coal companies.

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts announced they plan to return $2 billion in unclaimed property to Texas residents.

As the political season starts, the contestants got an unexpected bit of good news: The state comptroller says the next Legislature will start with almost $25 billion in the state treasury. Expensive campaign promises just got a lot easier to make.

The law that went into effect Sept. 1 allows anyone 21 years or older to carry a handgun in public without need for a permit or training.

Hegar will also talk about how to keep Texas business-friendly and what another wave of COVID-19 could mean for the state budget.

The Texas Comptroller’s Office announced Thursday they have more than $6 billion in unclaimed property, and they are ready to give it back to Texans.

Saturday through Monday, two sales tax holidays — the Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday and the Water Efficient Products Sales Tax Holiday -- will run concurrently. Throughout the weekend, Texas shoppers can save money on certain energy- and water-efficient products.

Abbott has the power to veto individual line items he objects to.

Families and businesses can save on the purchase of certain water and energy-efficient products from May 29 through May 31.

The Texas Senate unanimously signed off on a two-year, $250 billion state budget Tuesday, though there are still questions about how tens of billions of dollars in expected federal aid will be used — and whether it will arrive in time for lawmakers to use this legislative session.

The Texas Legislature’s budget worries have lightened considerably since the grim forecasts of last spring and summer. And most of their current budget problems are over. AdBy midsummer of last year, Hegar had seen enough to say that the current budget, which runs through the end of August 2021, appeared to be $4.6 billion out of balance. The economic trends are different now, but you’ll probably hear the cautionary history again — especially when someone gets too excited about spending that federal money. But state lawmakers still have a list of things to fret over, starting with COVID-19, an energy grid that came to pieces when the state needed it most and high-profile debates over elections, voting, police brutality and funding.

The crush of proposed legislation follows what many consider to be the numerous failings of our state’s power grid uncovered by February’s winter storm. Ad“They failed us, miserably,” Bossette said of state lawmakers. 2011Ten years ago, lawmakers were lamenting how another winter storm knocked out power to millions of Texans. Just as they are now, ERCOT officials face withering criticism for not making sure our grid was better prepared. Even then, ERCOT officials said they have no authority to force power generators to follow through with these plans.

The winter storm that left dozens of Texans dead, millions without power and nearly 15 million with water issues could be the costliest disaster in state history, potentially exceeding the $125 billion in damage from Hurricane Harvey. Last week’s winter storm impacted every region of the state, a reason why experts and officials are discussing the possibility of damage and cost exceeding those from Hurricane Harvey. Kidd said he expects the state to be reimbursed for 75% of its expenses by the federal government. Back then, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar told lawmakers how much money they’d have to spend on a state budget for the next two years. And he announced his support for legislation that “prohibits cities and counties from banning natural gas appliances.”AdThen last week’s winter storm hit.

Officials for Las Vegas Sands are still pushing to allow casinos in Texas, even after momentum for the idea seemed to slow in recent weeks. Then came the death of Adelson, the famous chairman, founder and CEO of Las Vegas Sands. Andy Abboud, Las Vegas Sands' senior vice president of government affairs, indicated in a statement for this story that the company was undeterred. Sure enough, Las Vegas Sands' Texas lobby team has kept growing at a brisk pace, ballooning to 51 members, according to registrations with the Texas Ethics Commission as of Tuesday. While not exactly a ringing endorsement of casino gambling, Phelan's view may not be too out of whack with Las Vegas Sands' pitch.

This year, the proposals fully fund Texas public schools under a school finance system they overhauled in 2019 to boost funding and slow the growth of local property taxes. When providing an update in January, Hegar projected a nearly $1 billion deficit for the current state budget that runs through August 2021. Dan Patrick and former House Speaker Dennis Bonnen ordered this summer, or any supplemental changes to the budget lawmakers will have to make. Vance Ginn, chief economist with the conservative group Texas Public Policy Foundation, was optimistic about the legislature’s priorities despite a tumultuous pandemic year. Disclosure: Every Texan and Texas Public Policy Foundation have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.

If and when you go looking for the killer of legislation to bring marijuana or casinos to the state of Texas in 2021, consider the evidence against Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar. Reexamining current spending and cutting the easy stuff comes first, but it doesn’t produce much money. Polishing up the accounting tricks that balance a budget without spending money or raising taxes. An example: Delaying a $1 billion payment from the last day of the current budget reduces spending by that amount — for this budget. They have to find $1 billion to trim from the current budget, but that’s not really much in the face of a $250 billion budget.

Security for the opening day of the Texas Legislature's session was been ramped up after violence in Washington D.C. last week. The Texas Legislature is back, and on their opening day Tuesday, state lawmakers gave you no reason to stop what you’re doing and pay attention. His early warnings that the current state budget could have a shortfall of $4.6 billion shrunk to slightly less than $1 billion — relative pocket change in a $250 billion state budget. Those are some of the battles ahead in the Texas Capitol — a building designed, after all, for debating and settling fierce differences in opinion. But Tuesday’s beginning, especially in light of what happened last week in Washington, D.C., was just what you’d hope for: Boring.

But he acknowledged that Texas' economic future remains "clouded in uncertainty" and that numbers could change in the coming months. Hegar also announced a nearly $1 billion deficit for the current state budget that lawmakers must make up, a significantly smaller shortfall than Hegar expected over the summer. That number, however, doesn't account for 5% cuts to state agencies' budgets that Gov. Dan Patrick ordered this summer or any supplemental changes to the budget lawmakers will have to make. “Hurricanes pose a persistent threat in counties that contribute a third of Texas’ gross state product.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar sits down with The Texas Tribune for a live interview on Jan. 14. Join The Texas Tribune at 8 a.m. Central Jan. 14 for an interview with Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar conducted by Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey. Hegar, who was elected comptroller in 2014, serves as Texas’ treasurer, check writer, tax collector, procurement officer and revenue estimator. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.

Texas collected about $2.6 billion in state sales tax revenue in September, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar said Thursday. "The COVID-19 pandemic and low price of crude oil continue to weigh on the Texas economy and sales tax revenue," Hegar said in a news release. State sales tax revenue is the state's single largest source of funding. Other sources of state revenue are still being impacted by economic shutdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Another major tax, the hotel occupancy tax, is also down about 37% in revenue from the same month last year.

Texas collected about $2.8 billion in state sales tax revenue in August 5.6% less than in the same month last year, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said Tuesday. That revenue was based mainly on purchases made in July, when the number of coronavirus cases were peaking. State sales tax collections from major sectors except retail trade declined compared to the same period in 2019, Hegar said. "Consequently," he said in a news release, "further declines in sales tax revenue may ensue in the coming months." Since the pandemic hit the state several months ago, sales tax revenue has been mainly on the decline.

Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneFor the first time in months, Texas state sales tax revenue increased when compared to the same period last year despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said Monday. Texas collected $2.98 billion in sales tax revenue in July 4.3% more than in July 2019. That revenue, which mainly reflects purchases made in June, was better than expected, despite the high unemployment due to the pandemic, Hegar said in a statement. State sales tax revenue is the state's single largest source of funding. The state's total sales tax revenue for May, June and July this year was down 5.3% compared to the same period last year, Hegar said Monday.

We're going to have to continue to learn how to live with the pandemic and be able to keep the economy open, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. Allie Goulding/The Texas TribuneEditor's note: If you'd like an email notice whenever we publish Ross Ramsey's column, click here. It will be a miracle if Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and his team of financial prognosticators are right about the arc of the states economy over the next few months. Like the one about businesses and consumers resuming something like their normal economic lives around the first of next year, he said in a livestreamed interview with the Texas Tribune this week. Disclosure: The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.

Texas lawmakers will return to the Capitol in January just six months from now to revise the current budget and write the next one. The latest news from the Texas comptroller that the state will have $11.6 billion less to spend in its current budget than lawmakers expected leads straight to a conversation about which programs and services in the state budget are expendable. The Legislature will be in session in January just six months from now to revise the current budget and write the next one. What comes after the current budget is the hard part. If big cuts are in order, education and health and human services are the biggest spending categories in the Texas budget.

On Monday, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic had created a large shortfall in the budget. That puts the state on track to end the biennium, which runs through August 2021, with a deficit of nearly $4.6 billion, Hegar said. The state, Hegar said, will now have roughly $110 billion to work with for the current budget. Hegar's projected $4.6 billion deficit for the state, he said, does not include expected additional appropriations for Medicaid and other programs that were underfunded in the current budget. Lawmakers will need to reckon with those shortfalls in addition to that projected $4.6 billion budget hole next session, which will increase the spending total and the ending deficit number.

Callie Richmond for The Texas TribuneTexas collected $2.67 billion in state sales tax revenue in June a 6.5% drop compared to what the state brought in the same month last year, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said Wednesday. Junes sales tax revenue, which mainly reflects purchases made in May, suggests that the states phased reopening and relaxing of social distancing measures over the past month led to some increases in economic activity. Still, Hegar said, sales tax revenue totaled over April, May and June was down 9.7% compared to the same period a year ago. While collections from restaurants were depressed, Hegar said that take-out and delivery sales, along with online purchases, helped buoy revenue in the restaurant and retail sectors. Later this month, Hegar is expected to announce his revised revenue estimate for the current state budget, which ends in August 2021.

Texas collected about $2.6 billion in state sales tax revenue in May, leading to the steepest year-over-year decline in over a decade, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Monday. "Significant declines in sales tax receipts were evident in all major economic sectors, with the exception of telecommunications services," Hegar said in a news release. Monday's announcement is the latest reminder of the economic devastation facing the state and how recovering from it could last months if not years even as businesses begin reopening their operations, which feed into the sales tax revenue. Last month, for example, Hegar announced that the sales tax revenue collections for purchases in March dropped roughly 9% which at the time was the steepest decline since January 2010. Some Republicans have pushed for double-digit budget reductions, arguing the economic fallout merits such an action.

HOUSTON – In Texas, sales tax collected by businesses is due to the state every month on the 20th. Houston Jewelry has been in the area for generations, surviving hurricanes, recessions and other crisis. In disasters like Hurricane Harvey, the state has delayed sales tax payments for business owners like them as part of a disaster declaration. “We’re actually quite surprised that the comptroller, that this was not anticipated in the disaster declaration,” Houston Jewelry owner Rex Solomon said. Solomon will forgo his pay on Friday in order to pay the state more than $10,000 in sales tax and the employees.