Texas asks most state agencies to cut budgets by 5 percent

Texas’s top Republican lawmakers are asking most state agencies to cut budgets by 5 percent in preparation for the “economic shock” of the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen wrote a letter to heads of state agencies and institutions of higher education asking them to submit a plan identifying the savings by June 15. “We are confident that Texas will get back to work and continue…