Here's a Look at Texas' 'Rainy Day Fund' and How Democrats are Campaigning to Spend It - thetexan.news

The Economic Stabilization Fund, built largely on taxes from the oil and gas industry, has grown to the point where it is expected to exceed its legal cap for the first time ever. That record balance has become a flashpoint in statewide campaigns.

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor, wants to direct nearly two-thirds of the fund toward direct payments to Texas households. That would represent a massive shift in how the state treats money it has historically kept locked away for disasters and economic downturns. For working families in Lubbock and across West Texas, a direct payment proposal sounds appealing on paper, but the fund exists precisely because Texas has no income tax and needs a cushion when oil prices collapse.

Whether the legislature would ever move that much money out the door is a separate question entirely, and Republicans who control both chambers have shown little appetite for it.

The fund has never bumped against its own legal ceiling before, which means Texas is sitting on more emergency cash right now than at any point in state history.