Texas LBB Publishes 2028-29 Budget Hearing Schedule

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The process of building Texas's next two-year state budget is moving into its next phase.

The Texas Legislative Budget Board (LBB) has published its initial schedule of budget hearings for state agencies and programs as officials begin reviewing Legislative Appropriations Requests (LARs) for the 2028-29 biennium. The schedule currently stretches from late August into September, with additional hearings still expected to be scheduled.

While these hearings take place months before lawmakers convene for the 90th Texas Legislature in January 2027, they are an important early step in determining what eventually makes its way into the state's next General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Texas Budget Hearings Begin the Agency Review Process

The LBB plays a central role in developing the Texas state budget. During this stage of the process, the LBB and the Governor's budget office review state agencies' strategic plans and LARs before developing budget recommendations for lawmakers.

Texas Policy Research's (TPR) guide to the budget cycle illustrates how this fits into the broader process. Agencies develop their LARs after receiving instructions from the LBB, followed by agency budget hearings and the preparation of recommendations ahead of the legislative session.

Readers looking to better understand what happens next can review our explainer on the Texas Legislative Budget Board and the Texas budget process, including how an agency request eventually becomes part of the budget considered by the Legislature.

Texas Budget Requests Face New Spending Scrutiny

This year's budget hearings also come amid a renewed debate over the growth of Texas government spending

Texas Policy Research has tracked that growth with a historical look at Texas state spending across recent budget cycles and has put the size of the current budget into longer-term context.

In July, Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), and House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) directed most state agencies to reduce their base budget requests by 3 percent as they prepare their LARs for the 2028-29 biennium.

Smaller agency requests do not necessarily translate into an overall reduction in state spending. Ultimately, lawmakers will decide how much taxpayer money is appropriated when they write the next state budget.

Texas Policy Research Action (TPRA) also joined other fiscal conservatives in a joint statement responding to the new budget guidance, welcoming greater scrutiny while cautioning against confusing smaller requests with actual spending cuts. The statement noted that agencies may still seek additional funding through exceptional items and that several major spending obligations are exempt from the directive.

The statement called for a broader approach to fiscal discipline, including budgets that grow no faster than population growth plus inflation and structural reforms aimed at reducing the size and cost of government.

Texas's 2028-29 Budget Process Is Getting Underway

The publication of the LBB budget hearing schedule is only an early milestone in a process that will continue through the 2027 legislative session.

For now, the hearings will provide an early look at what individual agencies are requesting, where officials are seeking additional taxpayer funding, and how seriously the state's new budget guidance is being applied.

Additional agency hearings remain to be scheduled, making the LBB's 2028-29 budget hearing schedule a resource worth watching as Texas moves closer to writing its next state budget.

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