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Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) this week, “showing the state is projected to have a record $188.2 billion in revenue available for general-purpose spending during the 2024-25 biennium, a 26.3 percent increase from 2022-23.”
As part of the budget process, state agencies submitted strategic planning and Legislative Appropriations Requests (LARs) over the past year. Listed here are three agencies seeking funding for upgrades and various projects.
As the largest state agency, supporting more than 120 websites and 376 applications, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) wants to build on investments made via COVID-19 relief funds, according to its LAR documents. The agency made some 21 exceptional items requests including cybersecurity compliance and monitoring at $30.7 million; application modernization at $33.5 million; and the Performance Management & Analytics System (a cloud data analytics platform) at $13.9 million.
With one of the top five state IT budgets, the Department of Criminal Justice is looking to update computers and law enforcement equipment. These updates include a computer replacement program at $7.8 million, video surveillance system updates at $6.3 million, body-worn cameras at $23.9 million and $4.4 million for radio interoperability, according to its LAR. Equipment would be used in part at high-security prison facilities, according to the document.
After launching the Alcohol Industry Management System (AIMS) in late 2021, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) seeks additional funds needed to continue the project, according to testimony last summer. The agency is requesting some $4.4 million for the project’s phase three and an additional $2.4 million for on-going related costs, according to its LAR.
Requests for agencies that have biennial appropriations of more than $40 million can be seen at the 2024-2025 Exceptional Items – Initial Agency LAR Submissions report.
