Final answer:
Budget bills in Texas must be approved for two-year cycles, known as a biennium, and require a simple majority vote to pass through the state legislature. These bills are part of a process that includes proposal, committee review, and approvals by both legislative chambers before being signed by the governor.
Step-by-step explanation:
The requirement for budget bills in Texas is that they must be approved for two-year cycles. This means the state legislature adopts a budget that sets forth expenditures for a biennium, which covers a span of two years. Unlike the proposals for a balanced budget amendment at the federal level that has been debated for many years and would require a balanced federal budget every year, state budget practices can vary.
In the case of Texas, the state constitution requires that the state budget be balanced. This biennial budget process is enacted following detailed scrutiny by the Texas Legislature and ultimately requires a simple majority for approval, not a supermajority.
Budget bills go through a process starting with a proposal from the governor's office or the Legislative Budget Board, followed by review and discussions within respective budget committees, and ending with approvals by both the House and Senate before being sent to the governor for signature. It is important to note that for a bill to become law, it must pass through both the state house and state senate in identical form.