The Texas Senate unanimously passed a $308 billion biennial budget that largely aligns with House proposals on border security funding and raises for state employees but diverges on property tax relief and education priorities.
The Senate on Monday in a 31-0 vote approved its budget proposal which would allocate $10 billion to fund the chamber's electric grid reforms intent on constructing new generation capacity, provide $1.8 billion to fund state employee pay raises and appropriate more than half of the 2024-25 biennium budget to fund education.
Culminating the monthslong effort to pass a budget, the Senate vote advances the budget further down the legislative trail toward conference committee negotiations, in which House and Senate budget writers will work to iron out any differences between the chambers' funding plans.