TAXES AND SPENDING 9/5/86 The Clements Record • Governor Clements restrained state spending. State spending from the 1978-79 biennium to the 1982-83 biennium actually declined by 5.4% when adjusted for inflation and population. In actual dollars the state budget increased by 41%. • Governor Clements extensively used his line item veto power to cut the state budget. He vetoed a total of $284.9 million out of the spending bills passed by the 66th and 67th Legislatures. • Governor Clements cut the state bureaucracy. The number of state employees declined by 3,631 or 3.7%. The number of full time state employees per 10,000 population dropped from 127 in 1978 to 115 in 1982. • Governor Clements left office with a surplus in the state treasury. As certified by Comptroller Bob Bullock's 1983 Annual Financial Report for the state of Texas, Governor Clements left a billion dollars for his successor. • Governor Clements provided essential services to the people of Texas. He increased funding from major areas of state government significantly. Junior Colleges 64.2% Colleges and Universities 56.4% Prisons 187.0% Public Education 60.0% Highways 38.3% • Spending for the Governor's Office declined by 55% when adjusted for inflation and population under Governor Clements and the number of employees decreased by one-third from the time he took office.