Reduce your budgets!
That’s the word from Governor Rick Perry and state lawmakers like René Oliveira.
Now they are looking for ways to keep the lone star state out of the red.
State funded programs could take a hit this year, but State Representative René Oliveira tells Action 4 News that this is the only way to keep the state from going under.
Public health, border security, and prison systems may all have to cut their spending during the next 2 years.
“We are suffering from significant losses of revenue,” said Oliveira.
State agencies are being asked to outline ways they can cut their budgets by 5 percent, and if they don’t, the state could have a 12 billion dollar deficit by 2011.
Over half of the state budget is from sales taxes, and with a recession, people aren’t shopping as much as they use to, which is something the state didn’t foresee when they wrote the budget a year ago.
Oliveira said that cutting state funded programs from places like universities, transportation systems and parks may not go over well with residents.
“But they should also trust that it is the right decision…digging ourselves deeper in the hole is no solution,” he said.
The good news is not everything is on the cutting board.
“We are not going to cut food stamps. Those thing are essential right now in this economy for some families to eat,” said Oliveira.
Unemployment insurance, unemployment payments and public education also won’t be cut.
Oliveira assured that the state will also try to cut the budget without state employee layoffs.
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