Budget Cuts in the Future
Last month, the Governor, Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the House asked all agencies to cut 5% from their 2010-2011 Budgets. The budget year from September 1st to August 31st; therefore, the 2011 budget starts in September. All agencies submitted their cuts. Most agencies that I deal with: Medical, Nursing, Dental, LPC, LSW, LMFT, Psychology and Veterinarian Boards found savings by not filling open positions. The vast majority of the board’s budgets are in employee salaries (roughly 80%). The Texas Medical Board, one of Governor Perry’s favor agencies, told the Medical Board it could restore 2 1/2 % of the cut it took. The Medical Board is looking to fill a few positions.
Over the weekend, the Governor, Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the House asked all agencies to find 10% cuts from its 2012-2013 Budget. Again, most of these cuts will have to come from employees. This means customer service will suffer, licensure will likely take a little longer, investigations will further slow down its resolution time, and prosecutions will take longer.
I also would not be surprised if all renewal fees were increased.