September 29, 2016 5:39 PM

Greenfield: State Expenditures for FY16 Keep Rolling Along

In advance of the Annual Cash Report and the Annual Financial Report, our resident number cruncher Dr. Stuart Greenfield offers his take on expenditures for the fiscal year

State Comptroller Glenn Hegar recently announced that state tax collections came in below estimates. He did not comment on total state revenue, which increased more than had been estimated, nor has his office or the LBB commented on state expenditures for FY16.

In a few months, Hegar’s office will release the Annual Cash Report and Annual Financial Report, which documents state revenue and expenditure for FY16. Before that time, this article will hopefully provide an overview of state expenditures for this fiscal year.

In FY16, state expenditures increased by 7.7 percent to $114.6 billion. As total state revenue was $111.3 billion, net cash flow (revenue – expenditures) was -$3.3 billion. While total net cash flow was -$3.3 billion, according to the Comptroller’s office, the impact on state cash balances for FY16 in various state funds were more substantial. The state’s General Revenue Fund 0001 declined by $5.1 billion to $530.1 million, while Total Consolidated General Revenue declined by $5.0 billion to $6.1 billion. These declines will adversely impact the beginning cash balance in the forthcoming Biennial Revenue Estimate.

The full column from Dr. Stuart Greenfield is in the R&D Department.

By Dr. Stuart Greenfield