If you know you won’t get what you want to improve government fiscal transparency, get something that improves the process.

That occurred with Texas Sen. Kirk Watson's attempt to increase from two days to five the number of days senators had before voting on the conference committee report on the state budget.

The Austin Democrat earned a compromise in the Senate rules approved Wednesday. James Quintero, a fiscal policy analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, notes the compromise is an improvement.

The new rules now provide for a 48-hour layout period for the “outside the bounds” resolution, a vital explanatory document that contrasts the final budget agreement with the versions originally approved by the House and the Senate.

Quintero notes this summary of the final budget agreement was not readily available – even to members – until shortly before the final vote. Under the new rule, the side-by-side will be released side-by-side with the actual bill text.

“This new window into the Texas budget is a good step forward,” Watson said.

Hopefully, it improves fiscal transparency for Texans.