Business and economic development services comprise the third largest area of state spending in the budget. As the graph above demonstrates, the majority of funds for these agencies comes from federal and other funding sources. Other funding sources simply refers to sources of funding not a part of the general revenue or from federal sources; i.e. bond proceeds, trust funds, and the State Highway Fund.

The single largest recipient of funds in Article VII is the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). In the 2008-09 budget, TxDOT was appropriated about $16.9 billion in funding or 82.5% of all funding. The total increase in funding over the 2006-07 biennial budget is primarily due to increases in TxDOT appropriations. These increases, totaling $1.2 billion, come from bonds issued by the State Highway Fund and the Texas Mobility Fund as well as from increases in federal funding for highway planning and construction. However, increases in TxDOT’s funding are partially offset by decreases in funding for the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the Office of Rural Affairs, and the Texas Workforce Commission. Funding for these agencies will decrease due to the loss of federal funds which are no longer available.