(C) Texas Tribune
This story was first published on Texas Tribune.org[1]
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The Blast: Arlington-area school shooting, COVID-19 relief funding, Abbott touts border security plan
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Date: 2021-10 

HOUSE BUDGET WRITERS CONSIDER SPENDING PROPOSAL FOR FEDERAL COVID-19 RELIEF FUNDS

The House Appropriations Committee this morning kicked off consideration of the chamber’s proposed spending plan for roughly $16 billion in COVID-19 federal relief funds.

House Bill 145 by state Rep. Greg Bonnen, a Friendswood Republican who chairs the committee, is expected to advance “early next week,” the lawmaker told members this morning as he kicked off the hearing, which included more than 80 people registering to testify on the proposal.

The legislation proposes spending $7.2 billion on the state’s unemployment compensation fund and sending $3 billion to the Texas Department of State Health Services to provide funding for state and local hospital surge staffing and for the operation of regional infusion centers, among other things. The bill would also send roughly half a million dollars toward broadband expansion efforts and $200 million to bolster the state’s cybersecurity.

The spending plan also includes funding to help food banks in the state, dollars toward mental health options for Texas kids and money for initiatives assisting survivors of sexual assault.

The House’s spending plan largely mirrors the Senate’s proposal, which is Senate Bill 8 by state Sen. Jane Nelson, a Flower Mound Republican who chairs the Senate Finance Committee. The Senate committee is set to again consider that proposal Thursday. — Cassi Pollock

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