Texas’ budget forecast has plummeted to a projected $4.6 billion shortfall as the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices take a heavy toll on one of America’s largest economies.
The new assessment Monday from Republican Comptroller Glenn Hegar is a sharp reversal from an October forecast that had Texas in line for an estimated $3 billion surplus.
State officials cautioned the bleak new budget projections were fraught with uncertainty given that the virus continues to spread in Texas, which for a month has been one of the hardest-hit parts of the U.S.
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