Texas officials have asked all state agencies to scale back their costs by four percent, in an effort to curb spending. The cuts will affect agency budgets for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, reports The Texas Tribune.The request was announced in a letter from Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus. In the letter, the three elected officials said Texas’s economic success depends on “limited government, pro-growth economic policies and sound financial planning.”
However, the lawmakers did mention some state priorities that would be exempt from the four percent cuts. These include public school funding, border security, Child Protective Services and mental health resources.
Next in this budgetary process: State agencies will send their requests to the Legislative Budget Board, which will review the proposals ahead of the 2017 session.