Legislative Blog

J.B. Williams, J.D.


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A Bit of Background

The following backgrounds help summarize the author's views on both the general topic: Texas and more specifically 89th Legislative Session as it relates to that topic.

Brief Summary of Texas

Texas is truly a Republic. There are a multitude of items that to modify the state constitution must be modified. So there are times when Constitutional amendments are on the voting ballots. While I sometimes abhor the wording, the concept that all of those legally able to vote in Texas must vote on the change is a good one. And bills in Texas are generally short, making it easier for everyone to understand.

Summary of 89th Legislative Session

This subtopic contains a list of some of the "new" laws reviews. Total laws signed/voted into effect = 1,192. This will begin with an appropriations bill, and then go through a few that went into effect immediately. The following dates were when different laws took, or will take, effect: 7/1/25; 9/1/25; 9/5/25; 9/17/25; 10/1/25; 12/5/25; 1/1/26; 6/1/26; 8/1/26; 9/1/26; 1/1/27; 4/1/27; 9/1/27; 1/1/28

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Blog Summary

HB 500 - Final section



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Supplemental Appropriations Part 6

Published: 2026-07-02

HB 500 - 114 pages

Total appropriations for state funds $989,042,908 (989 Million plus) with $279,023,834 (279 Million plus) for autos/boats. At $70K per vehicle that totals 3,986 vehicles. Guessing the next 2 years the state will be buying a lot of vehicles.

Bond review board is appropriated $480,000. The comptroller of public accounts is appropriated $8,959,546 (8.9 Million plus). The comptroller of public accounts statewide enterprise resource plan is appropriated $8,666,041 (8.6 Million plus). These funds are for the STARR project to replace the Uniform Statewide Account System and Texas Identification Number System.

The Texas Emergency Services Retirement System is appropriated $947,800 for migrating services for software procurement, licensing, configuration, disaster recovery exercises and ongoing maintenance. So I guess the State retirement system self funds the pay out to retirees but does not finance any of the administration of the funds and payouts. I think that is a big issue because this may be a supplement funding but the actual funding of this could be substantial. If the retirement fund is self-funded, and it should be, then the all administration should be self-funded as well. The Pension review board is appropriated $700,000 for technology systems and replacement of information tech equipment.

The secretary of state is appropriated $568,726 for threat intelligence information technology. The secretary of state is appropriated $5,673,660 ($5.6 Million plus) for application development and enhancements for its app. The secretary of state is appropriated $5,240,352 (5.2 Million plus) for redesigning its website. The secretary of state is appropriated $175,281 to implement a risk and privacy program. This honestly seems like an excess amount of funds for website development and app development.

The department of family and protective services is appropriated $24,167,271 from general revenues and $30,367,274 from federal funds for development new case management system. Again an excess amount of money in my opinion. And this is just development, there will probably be more for moving things over to the new system and for training. They are also appropriated $12,462,734 (12.4 Million plus) from general funds and $814,864 from federal funds for providing resources to implement the Search Engine for Multi-Agency Reportable Conduct. DFPS is also appropriated $8,436,864 ($8.4 Million plus) in state funds and $563,136 in federal funds for staff to address current cybersecurity threats and prepare the department to mitigate future risks. Perhaps this should be rolled into the updating the system rather than treated separately because it would probably be more effect that way and less costly.

The Texas Historical Commission is appropriated $980,000 for information technology project to update legacy systems, enhance operations at state histic sites, and improve retail operations.

The Department of Information Resources is appropriated $48,243,334 (48.2 Million plus) for expanding delivery of cybersecurity services. They are appropriated $3,000,000 (3 Million) for telecommunications for account 8123.

The office of risk management is appropriated $1,194,904 (1.1 Million plus) for integrating functionality into cloud-based risk management information systems.

The department of state health services is appropriated $2,545,287 for maintaining devices, including warranty, lease and software costs for about 3,500 desktops, laptops and tablets. About $727 per device - seems like there should be a means of doing this without leasing to reduce repeated costs; and software - not sure what they are using that is specific and why it could not be just a one time purchase or created 'in-house'. They are also appropriated $5,635,520 for information tech to link to existing maternal child health data systems and State Health Analytics Reporting Platform. Now this seems insane!

Health and human services commission is appropriated $744,364 from general funds and $755,636 from federal funds for increased license costs for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program forecasting and rate setting. Seems a lot of funds for forecasting and rate setting. Now sure what the licensing is. They are also appropriated $6,292,741 from general and $1,898,777 from federal funds for System of Contract Operation and Reporting enhancements. Again seems excessive. They are appropriated $1,318,691 from general and $763,288 from federal funds for staff resources and electronic discovery software for the inspector general. A bit overkill unless having the electronic discovery software is creating a staff saving exceeding the costs.

The Texas Education Agency is appropriated $1,468,911 (1.5 Million plus) to provide funding and staff for a new automated case management system for investigations. They are appropriated $1,600,000 from the foundation school account for improving classroom bandwidth connectivity in Windham School District. I find this amusing since I've recently read that many school districts are eliminating electronics and finding the students are doing better and are less distracted. The very act of hand writing something means it is more likely to be remembered than if you type it. Something I wish I'd known in law school and done more of. The Texas Education Agency is appropriated $1,351,000 (1.3 Million plus) to the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to upgrade technology and information resources. They are appropriated $1,000,000 (1 Million) for the school for the Deaf for information technology and cybersecurity initiatives. All of this seems like a great deal of money but then I don't know the number of students this covers.

The office of court administration is appropriated $11,942,000 (11.4 Million plus) for creating a new appellate case management system. OMG this is insane! They are appropriated $3,943,682 (3.9 Million plus) to provide a new specialty court case management system and staff data collection practices and court reporting for specialty courts. Again I know Texas is huge but is there not already case management systems? Why can the existing systems not be modified for specialty courts at a significantly lower cost.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct is appropriated $72,320 for procuring a new case management system. Is this the one they are spending millions on??

The judiciary section of the comptroller's office is appropriated $188,454 for providing a new case management system. So we are just throwing money around departments to add onto the already insane amount we are spending on the case management system? Additional funding in the amount of $170,000 for creating a new discovery management system.

The Department of Criminal Justice is appropriated $19,489,260 (19.4 Million plus) for purchasing integration solutions for Centralized Accounting Payroll/Personnel System. They are further appropriated $1,000,000 (1 Million) for replacing the Office of the Inspector General Crime Management System. Makes that seem cheap compared to the other systems. And they are appropriated $29,077,480 (29 Million plus) for replacing the video surveillance equipment. Another $21,993,600 (29.9 Million plus) for replacing the telephone systems. And $29,265,000 (29.2 Million plus) for expanding broadband access to all department facilities. Department of Justices is appropriated $562,640 for modernizing the Board of Pardons and Paroles' telephone system, because the other huge sum for telephones won't cover this. And another $58,300,000 (58.3 Million) for purchasing an inmate management system for incarceration and parole supervision - because the existing one is so yesterday. And another little $294,176 for replacing about 350 desktop and laptop computers for the Board of Pardons and Paroles. So around $840 per computer.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is appropriated $3,059,176 (3 Million plus) to obtain necessary information tech tools to provide software solutions and user support.

The Commission on Fire Protection is appropriated $160,000 for information technology equipment upgrades. The Commission on Jail Standards is appropriated $87,000 for replacing laptops and other hardware and software upgrades. The Commission on Jail Standards is appropriated $38,000 for ongoing cloud maintenance to keep data secure. Since that is for 2 years - I do wander what the cost is in total for cloud maintenance and is it really worth the cost?

The Juvenile Justice Department is appropriated $4,500,000 for modernizing seven applications. That seems costly. They are further appropriated $30,000 for making enhancements to the department's Office of the Inspector General's CRIMES database. And another $100,000 for establishing audio and visual interview rooms at each facility. A mere $200,000 for procuring body-worn cameras for the department's Office on the Inspector General. The sum of $1,600,000 (1.6 Million) for replacing computer equipment older than 5 years. Wow - 5 years!! That's as long as you think they will work, this is insane!

The Department of Public Safety is appropriated $13,858,646 (13.8 Million plus) for driver license services technology improvements. A bit confused as I thought this seemed highly automated already and seemed pretty efficient as well. They are also appropriated $5,000,511 (5 Million plus) for software to add customer self-help features and automation. But that isn't covered in the tech improvements costs. And they are appropriated $800,000 for implementing accounts payable invoice tracking systems. I certainly hope this will mean this is more efficient and helps ensure less fraud. And just a small $96,999,688 (96 Million plus) for implementing disaster recovery strategies through off-site and cloud-based platforms and modernizing over 40 end-of-life applications. So more cloud-based annual fees are coming.

The Commission on Environmental Quality is appropriated $1,662,839 (1.6 Million plus) from the clean air account, $1,413,290 (1.4 Million plus) from the water resource management account, $1,059,962 (1 Million plus) from the waste management account, $1,059,962 (1 Million plus) from the hazardous and solid waste remediation fees account, $1,059,962 (1 Million plus) from the petroleum storage tank remediation account, and $1,238,865 from the operating permit fees account for implementing cybersecurity practices. Wow! That is a huge amount for this.

The Railroad Commission is appropriated $2,142,778 for migrating the current geographic information system to the cloud-based platform. That way we can incur annual fees for that too! And the sum of $7,685,824 for developing a produced water and injection data reporting system. I'm surprised this system did not already exist because to think they were tracking this manually seems insane. But that's a significant amount of money. They are appropriated $2,748,000 (2.7 Million plus) for developing a new oil and gas authorized pit registration system. Seems like a large sum for an upgrade. Another $6,288,068 (6.2 Million plus) for modernizing the alternative fuels online system and developing a new gas utilities' audit and market oversight online system. Still more in the amount of $7,728,398 (7.7 Million plus) for addressing a forecasted increase in data center services. This will be greatly driven by the states needs for cloud services.

The Water Development Board is appropriated $2,676,054 (2.6 Million plus) for supporting mitigation of info tech risks by assisting with Microsoft server migrations, modernizing applications, and improving data security.

The Texas Lottery Commission, or its successor, is appropriated $1,260,000 (1.26 Million) from general revenue, $329,344 from the lottery account for upgrading the Bingo Operation Service System (BOSS) and the Bingo Service Portal and for staff for post-launch support and ongoing maintenance. Since the lottery is support to fund education, is the money from the general fund not going to education instead to self-support itself, or has the lottery become yet another area where it is more costly to taxpayers.

The Department of Motor Vehicles is appropriated $125,000,000 (125 Million) for implementing the second phase of the legacy Registration and Titling System replacement. Hoping this lates a very long time.

The Texas Workforce Commission is appropriated $3,264,540 (3.2 Million plus) from the unemployment compensation special administration account for implementing unemployment insurance fraud detection and deterrence system. They are also appropriated $3,162,408 (3.1 Million plus) from the unemployment compensation special administration account for implementing items identified in the Texas Cybersecurity Framework Assessment to improve cybersecurity. Further appropriated $2,613,576 (2.6 Million plus) from the unemployment compensation special administration account for implementing unemployment insurance State Information Data Exchange Systems (SIDES) modules. And another $76,212 from general, $1,452,262 from the unemployment compensation special administration account, and $2,705,526 from federal funds for addressing network deficiencies. This seems extremely costly.

State Office of Administrative Hearings is appropriated $320,645 for full-time information security officer to improve cyber security. If that's the 2 year salary for 1 person, that's pretty good. But I foresee this being recurring as well.

The Office of Injured Employee Counsel is appropriated $731,598 from the Texas Department of Insurance operating account for information tech modernization of COMPASS case management system. The Department of Insurance is appropriated $1,097,040 (1 Million plus) from the Texas Department of Insurance operating account for providing staff to replace the COMPASS claims management system.

Board of Pharmacy is appropriated $13,136 for addressing the Department of Information Resource cost incase for cloud services. So an additional $6,500 annually for cloud services, which will be ongoing.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas is appropriated $3,951,400 for developing case management system to streamline and improve contested case processes and improve data collection.

Commission on Environmental Quality is appropriated $418,026 from clean air account, $1,000,000 (1 Million) from water resource management, and $8,500,000 (8.5 Million) from operating permit fees account for modernizing 2 legacy applications to become web-based applications. They are also appropriated $60,289 from clean air account, $45,216 from waste management account, $45,215 from petroleum storage tank remediation, $45,215 from operating permit fees account for replacing personal computers. And the sum of $4,874,458 (4.8 Million plus) from the clean air account, $4,874,460 (4.8 Million plus) from water resource management account, $3,655,846 (3.6 Million plus) from waste management account, $3,655,844 (3.6 Million plus) from hazardous and solid waste remediation fees account, $3,655,844 (3.6 Million plus) from petroleum tank remediation account, and $3,655,844 (3.6 Million plus) from operating permit fees account for addressing forecasted increases in data center service costs.

The Department of Agriculture is appropriated $900,000 for updating the department's website. Parks and Wildlife Department is appropriated $1,250,000 (1.25 Million) for improving core infrastructure to support connectivity updates.

The Water Development Board is appropriated $2,744,229 for maintaining current obligations for data center services. A bit over budget.

Board of Plumbing Examiners is appropriated $167,000 for enhancing and improving the license database, and improving electronic communications capabilities.

Board of chiropractic examiners is appropriated $36,000 for increasing the board's Internet bandwidth.

Department of licensing and regulation is appropriated $1,438,000 (1.4 Million plus) for modernizing the department's cybersecurity system. Further appropriation of $150,000 for replacing the held desk system.

Board of Pharmacy is appropriated $53,340 for purchasing Adobe software licenses. Further appropriated $24,990 for purchasing Tableau software license subscriptions. Gotta hate the subscription model because it merely means about $12K annually for that.

Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners is appropriated $67,645 for Parchment transcript management program, incorporate DocuSign signature software upgrade, lease copiers, and implement new call center phone software.

Texas Funeral Commission is appropriated $330,000 for operations through automation to efficiently serve licensees and the public.

State Securities Board is appropriated $168,000 for maintaining license for 2 software applications that assist in investigating fraudulent digital asset schemes.

Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners is appropriated $500,000 for expanding the licensing database to include enforcement, inspection and legal capabilities.

For purchasing motor vehicles, there are the following appropriations:

  1. Department of State Health Services - $2,465,539 (2.5 Million plus) from general revenue; with $1,500,000 (1.5 Million) for boats included
  2. Health and Human Services Commission - $7,910,164 (7.9 Million); includes $60,164 for Texas Civil Commitment office and $7,850,000 (7.8 Million) for Helath and Human Services Commission
  3. School for the Blind and Visually Impaired - $690,000
  4. School for the Deaf - $510,000
  5. Texas A&M Forest Services - $2,056,918 (2 Million plus)
  6. Texas Division of Emergency Management - $7,800,000 (7.8 Million)
  7. Department of Criminal Justice - $43,587,907 (43.5 Million plus)
  8. Juvenile Justice Department - $6,364,265 (6.3 Million plus); includes $140,765 for Office of Independent Ombudsman, $550,000 Office of the Inspector General, $5,673,500 (5.6 Million plus) Juvenile Justice Department
  9. Department of Public Safety - $146,884,563 (146.8 Million plus)
  10. Department of Agriculture - $1,500,000 (1.5 Million)
  11. Animal Health Commission - $1,290,000 (1.29 Million)
  12. Commission on Environmental Quality - $1,119,775 (1.1 Million plus) -- this amounts comes from clean air account ($189,841), water resource management account ($337,127), waste management account ($336,125), hazardous and solid waste remediation fees account ($41,000), petroleum storage tank remediation account ($107,841), and operating permit fees account $107,841
  13. General Land office - $1,000,000 (1 Million); includes $850,000 for boats = this is from the coastal protection account ($77,850), permanent school fund ($72,150) and remainder from the general revenue fund
  14. Parks and Wildlife Department - $9,123,786 (9.1 Million plus) from general revenue ($6,051,994), game/fish/water safety account ($509,840) and state parks account ($2,561,952)
  15. Railroad Commission - $4,889,841 (4.8 Million plus)
  16. Department of Transportation - $38,337,116 (38.3 Million plus) from the state highway fund
  17. Department of Insurance - $365,000 from Texas Department of Insurance operating account
  18. Department of Licensing and Regulation - $515,000
  19. Board of Pharmacy - $320,000
  20. Racing Commission - $160,000
  21. Board of Plumbing Examiners - $116,500
  22. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission - $1,339,050 (1.3 Million plus)
  23. Texas Historical Commission - $1,453,410 (1.4 Million plus)
  24. Commission on Fire Protection - $225,000

 


J.B. Williams, J.D.

4,312 federal laws were passed from 1995 through December 2016.
Along with 88,819 federal rules and regulations.


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