Budgeting starts with a twist this year, with officials telling agencies to begin with current spending and to add in a two percent pay raise for state employees. Then? Show how they'd cut ten percent from that.

The letter from the governor's office and the Legislative Budget Board is a bit different this time, and the politics are weird. They've recently started by telling agencies to come with in pre-cut budgets. That lets lawmakers add to the bare bones, looking like 181 tooth fairies in the process. This time, they're telling the agencies to come in with full budgets that the Legislature can then cut. That'll make them as popular as an orphanage manager in a Charles Dickens novel.

Pair this with what House Speaker Tom Craddick said last week about having $15 billion in available funds, and the next budget might be relatively painless to write. Comptroller Susan Combs raised a flag about that $15 billion, saying it's more like $10.7 billion. They're looking at the same number [0], but at different times in the budget. It's $10.7 as of last year, but Craddick thinks it'll hit $15 billion by the time the next budget starts.

Agencies have to submit budget requests in July and August. This week's letter, below, is the first step:

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