UPDATE: Reading the release a little more carefully, this is the first budget cut in Texas in 50 years. I have no idea when the last other state was to actually reduce spending. I would welcome if anyone has the answer to this question.

Via the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the Texas Legislature has reached a deal for the upcoming fiscal which actually cuts government spending. This is not a reduction in the rate of growth, it is not a cut based on a proposed budget, it is not a series of accounting gimmicks, the State of Texas will actually spend less money next fiscal year than it did last year. In so doing, it will be the first state in 50 years to actually implement a real reduction in spending. From the TPPF release:

This state budget deal is a victory for all Texans – and especially for the Texans who worked hard over the past several months to remind our legislators that they wanted a fiscally conservative state budget. The announced budget deal is a win for Texas on three specific points:

• It does not use a single penny of the rainy day fund for the next biennium.
• It does not raise taxes.
• It does represent the first all-funds reduction to a biennial state budget in the past half-century.

“What happened in the Texas Legislature this session is more than just a victory for Texans. It’s a victory for America. Texas already leads the way in job creation, economic vitality, and economic liberty. Now Texas is leading the way in the most important cause facing our country: the need to live within our means.

“Today, in Austin, Texas, the men and women of our legislature showed it can be done. That’s a tremendous accomplishment for Texas – and it’s a shining beacon of hope for America.”

Indeed. Let us hope that John Boehner is paying attention – this is the kind of leadership the American people expect from Congress. Not budget gimmicks, not reductions in the rate of the Federal Government’s growth, but some evidence that the government is actually spending less from year to year. And while liberals and go-along-get-along Republicans claim that actual cuts to government spending will create economic disaster, the experience in Texas proves the exact opposite, as Texas remains the strongest state in the country in terms of economic growth.

Cut the budget. Make government smaller. Grow American businesses. Texas is proving it can be done.