State agencies are looking to the next biennium as they begin to prepare for the state budget cycle, publishing strategic plans and then preparing their legislative appropriations requests (LARs) for all operations including IT projects — routine or exceptional.
The state’s budget timeline for the 2026-27 biennium begins with agency strategic planning due to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) by June 1. These inform proposed agency budgets. LBB publishes instructions for LAR submissions, due by Aug. 31.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) outlines the process as including baseline budget requests, exceptional item requests and forecasting. This process starts about six months before the LARs are due.
For those seeking specific IT projects that might come to pass, look to agency exceptional-items requests — generally massive, longer-term projects. These exceptional-items requests first go through a vetting process described in this way during a recent Industry Insider— Texas webinar:
Agency IT leaders and planners put tech requests together. Those are in turn reviewed by agencies’ government relations and executive management, which makes final approval. The requests go before legislators in the 89th Legislature.
Exceptional items are easy to find in the LAR documents; however, it’s crucial that projects go through the appropriations process. Some may not be approved when first requested but might be down the road.
Next steps, in general:
- Finalized LARs are distributed
- The LBB drafts the general appropriations bill
- The Legislature convenes from January to May
- Appropriations are debated and refined
- The state comptroller certifies the budget
- The governor signs the budget
“It’s really about that appropriation cycle,” said Hershel Becker during the Insider webinar. “Agencies can’t encumber funds that they don’t have the budget authority for, so follow those initiatives through the process, and especially if an agency is seeking exceptional items. You can see that in the LAR. … It’s not buried in some ops budget.”
