Rep. Armando Walle Votes For State Budget
(TEXAS) – Today, Rep. Armando Walle (HD 140) voted for the final version of the 2024/2025 state budget. This Session, Rep. Walle served as the subcommittee chair on Articles VI, VII & VIII and was named a House Conferee on the budget.
Rep. Walle released the following statement on the legislation:
“As the House conferee on Articles VI, VII & VIII, I am proud of the generational investments we have made in critical infrastructure. Between the budget and the supplemental, the state of Texas is putting billions into water projects, ranging the gamut from flood control to erosion control to drinking water. We also are investing hundreds of millions in port capital projects and ship channel improvements that will particularly help our communities in Houston.
“We are coming up on the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, but for me — and for too many Texans — the catastrophic scenes are still fresh in my mind. This budget makes a statement: our state is prioritizing transformational investments in flood infrastructure to protect all Texans from the preventable tragedies of natural disasters.
“Articles VI, VII & VIII also saw meaningful raises for state employees on top of the 5% increase accounted for in the base bill for targeted positions, and for the lowest-earners in some of our most underfunded agencies.
“I am proud of the work we accomplished in Articles VI, VII & VIII, and know that our decisions will lift all boats and help all Texans.
“Important investments were made throughout the rest of the budget — I am proud to be a part of the team that gave retired teachers a long-overdue cost of living adjustment and 13th check. I am also fully supportive of the new Texas University Fund that will support the University of Houston as it rises in national rankings.
“I am disappointed that the roughly $5 billion earmarked for critical increases in the basic allotment and teacher pay is contingent on the passage of legislation that has been warped by the Senate to include highly unpopular provisions on school vouchers. However, I will continue to fight for long-overdue investments in our public education system, and will happily come back in a special session to fix what the upper chamber has broken, and allocate those billions where they belong — with our students and teachers.
“I am proud of the work we accomplished in Articles VI, VII & VIII, and am grateful to have again served as a budget conferee. I know that our decisions on the whole will lift all boats and help all Texans.”
###State Rep. Armando Walle serves House District 140 in Harris County. For questions regarding the information in this release, please contact Cara Santucci, Chief of Staff, by email at cara.santucci@house.texas.gov.