Sometimes state politics plays a major role and it shapes the outcomes of the legislative action in completely different ways. For example, the Texas Enterprise Fund was created in 2003. The main reason for its implementation of the fund was to attract new companies to Texas. However, the main point of debate here was that this fund was approved, when drastic budget cuts for state programs were being implemented (due to the economic recession). Where, this fund was contending for revenues that could have been allocated to: healthcare and insurance programs for the low-income families. In this case, state politics was a major factor in the creation of this fund. ("Texas Politics - Political Economy," 2010) Another element that is sometimes associated with legislative action is "Pork" spending amendments. Simply put, this kind of spending is when various politicians will allocate funds, out of the budget for special projects in their district. The problem is that these various projects are often considered to be waste of money (by using the funds to benefit a select amount of individuals). A good example of cases like this include: the "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. This costs billions of dollars to construct, but was...

(Philpott, 2010)
Similarly a crisis in the middle of the year, such as: changes in revenue expectations can also impact the budget. For example, the shortfall in state revenues in 2011 is expected to be approximately $15 billion. This is problematic because, drastic budget cuts are being proposed for different segments of: public education (where budget cuts of $5 billion have been recommended). (Philpott, 2010)

Bibliography

The Budget Process: Four Phases. (2010). University of Texas. Retrieved from: http://www.laits.utexas.edu/txp_media/html/pec/features/0403_01/slide1.html

Texas Politics - Political Economy. (2010). Texas Tribune. Retrieved from: http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/2010-general-election/what-an-end-to-earmarks-would-mean-for-texas/

Castro, a. (2011). Texas budget draft cuts $13.7 billion in spending. Valley News Live. Retrieved from: http://www.valleynewslive.com/Global/story.asp?S=13866526

Philpott, B. (2010). What an End to Earmarks Would Mean for Texas. Texas Tribune. Retrieved from: http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/2010-general-election/what-an-end-to-earmarks-would-mean-for-texas/