TPWD 2014-2015 Legislative Appropriations Request Outcomes
August 13, 2013

• TPWD's 2014-15 Legislative Appropriations Request included a base budget request of $507 million and a request for additional exceptional items of $103 million, for a total of $610 million.
• The General Appropriations Act (Conference Committee version) adopted by the 83rd Texas Legislature included a total of $591 million in funding for TPWD. That amount includes TPWD's $506.8 million base budget request, plus many of TPWD's exceptional item requests for increased funding, and several other items. This included the following significant items (shown in two-year biennial totals):
• TPWD Exceptional Items:
• For item one requesting about $18.9 million for state park operations, the final state budget included close to $17.9 million.
• For item two requesting $11.9 million for capital budget priorities such as replacement vehicles and computers, the budget included $10.4 million.
• For item three requesting $40 million for capital repairs and construction, the budget included recommended funding $8 million for Fund 9/fisheries and wildlife facility capital construction and $11 million in bonds for repairs at any existing TPWD facility.
• The budget included all of item four, providing $13 million for important fish and wildlife funding.
• The budget also included all of item five, providing $15.5 million for local park grants to cities and counties across Texas.
• For item six requesting $3.7 million for state data center cost increases and Information Technology needs, the budget provided a net total of about $1 million (after adjusting for across the board data center reductions made elsewhere).
• Other TPWD Article VI Appropriations:
• Rider 27 appropriations contingent upon revenue collection - $7.5 million. (Allows TPWD to use fund balances and spend additional revenue, up to a capped amount, if the agency can generate it from sources such as state park fees and hunting and fishing license sales.)
• Northern bobwhite quail interagency contract with Texas A&M University (Rider 38) - $2 million
• Capital construction at Big Spring State Park (Rider 39) and Fort Boggy State Park (Rider 42) - $700,000
• Replacement helicopter - $5.2 million
• In addition, Article IX of the General Appropriations Act included the following items relevant to TPWD:
• Schedule C Pay Raise (includes game wardens)
• Across the Board Pay raise for Non Schedule C state employees
• Via the supplemental appropriations bill (HB1025), TPWD received a total of $13.8 million in fiscal year 2013 for the following items:
• State park revenue shortfall - $889,000
• Bastrop State Park wildfire recovery - $4.89 million
• Cedar Bayou restoration- $3 million
• State park capital repairs - $5 million