Texas Comptroller Glenn He­gar presented his revenue esti­mates for the remainder of fiscal year 2021 and the upcoming two-year budget cycle to the Texas Legislature Monday, Jan. 11.

Hegar said he expects to have $112.5 billion in funds available for general-purpose funding, down 0.4% from the funding available for the 2020-21 bien­nium. The Comptroller said he expects general-purpose tax col­lections to grow by nearly 7% in the latter half of fiscal year 2021, with growth continuing.

In a virtual press conference after his presentation, the comp­troller said Texas entered the pan­demic on a relatively stable eco­nomic footing with $4.8 billion in funds in the general-purpose balance – and with state sales tax revenues exceeding expectations – but the projected positive bal­ance has since been wiped out, re­sulting in a near $1 billion deficit.

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By Dustin Butler • [email protected]