AUSTIN (AP) _ Texas House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst have asked state agencies to cut about 2.5 percent from their current spending.
It’s an effort to avoid mandatory funding slashes amid the tight economy.
Straus and Dewhurst asked all heads of state agencies to submit their recommendations to cut costs in the remainder of the 2009 fiscal year — without cutting into essential programs.
The fiscal year ends August 31.
Legislators will start the budget period with about $6.7 billion in the so-called Rainy Day Fund.
Spending from the fund, which is estimated to grow to $9.1 billion by the end of the 2010-2011 budget cycle if left untouched, requires a two-thirds vote of both chambers.
Comptroller Susan Combs has projected $80.1 billion in state revenue available to spend.
Lawmakers also will get money from the federal government and other sources.