The House Appropriations subcommittee on Articles I, IV and V heard detailed budget recommendations for the Texas Office of the Attorney General on testimony from the Legislative Budget Board and the OAG. LBB analyst James Kessler said the introduced recommendations reduce the OAG's funding by $163.9 million and lower the FTE cap by three, while reversing agency-proposed method-of-finance swaps and adjusting one-time items.

The nut graf: committee members focused on how funding changes would affect crime victims programs. LBB highlighted two finance swaps the agency had requested and a projected revenue shortfall in the Crime Victims Compensation account (GR-D account 469), driven in part by a late‑2024 Federal Communications Commission rule limiting certain inmate phone revenue streams.

Kessler told the committee the LBB recommendation reverses an OAG proposal to swap $15.2 million from GR‑D account 469 to general revenue and to replace it with federal VOCA funds; the LBB also recommended reversing a $10.8 million swap from child support retained collections to general revenue. He said the swaps, if implemented, would reduce future federal match dollars by about $6 million annually beginning in FY 2028.

Committee members pressed for clarity on the phone revenue estimate. Kessler presented an LBB estimate of a $40.5 million loss to the victims account across the upcoming biennium due to the FCC rule; during questioning Brent Webster, first assistant attorney general, described the same policy change and referenced a figure closer to $42.5 million. Webster and Kessler both described agency staffing shortfalls as a driver of lower compensation awards paid to victims in recent years.

The packet presented by LBB also summarized program changes: removal of one‑time items associated with the OAG's child support IT modernization (phase 3 completes in the current biennium), reporting requirements tied to court cost receipts, deletion of riders tied to targeted assistant attorney general salary increases, and removal of a litigation-specific rider (Bridal 43) after the Google AdTech case winds down.

Committee chair and members requested follow-up briefings with the OAG and the Legislative Budget Board to clarify which receipts feed specific victim services and to ensure that victims' assistance and compensation remain funded if federal matches decline. No formal votes were taken in the hearing.

Looking ahead: staff said additional follow-up with the OAG and Texas Department of Criminal Justice is planned so the panel can quantify impacts and potential corrective riders before final conference work.