Unemployment is at its highest level in 20 years, and a dollar doesn’t stretch as far as it used to. That’s what Texas legislators have discovered when trying to balance the budget for the state.

The budget is the top priority, but Representative David Farabee says the challenge is providing quality service without spending too much.

Farabee says, “We wonder if we’re going to have enough money to provide the level of services that we’ve provided in the past.”

Before they can vote on other projects that need funding… They will have to tackle the budget. Farabee says it could be sometime this summer before the budget is balanced; well after the session is supposed to end.

“These are lean times. I don’t look for any new programs. I look for a scrubbing of existing programs and deciding what we need to continue and what might need to be abbreviated.”

Farabee says the economy is troubling, and he believes only time will tell how deeply Texas will be affected. But Farabee says he has faith Texas and Texans will rebound.

He says, “We know that in the future, the economy will turn that corner and we’ll have those dollars again.”

Despite a grim outlook there is some good news. President Obama’s stimulus package is expected to deliver around $17 billion to the state. Representative Farabee says that would definitely bolster the budget, and help to create revenue in the state.