A message from Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. In the latest issue of Fiscal Notes, the Comptroller’s office looks at the importance of the census and its impact on government programs and how their dollars are distributed.
You might think it’s just a count of U.S. residents. But the 2020 census is much more than that: The count and various estimates produced from it channel billions of dollars in federal funds to Texas, its local governments and its citizens.
In the latest issue of Fiscal Notes, the Comptroller’s office looks at the importance of the census and its impact on government programs and how their dollars are distributed — an estimated $44 billion for Texas in 2016 alone. An accurate census is vital: An undercount of just 1 percent could cost Texas hundreds of millions in funding for key programs.
We also examine the topic of redistricting. Redistricting, triggered by the decennial census, redraws districts for congressional and legislative representatives and other officials to ensure equal representation for every U.S. voter. The census also affects reapportionment, which adds or subtracts seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to account for population changes.
Click here to read Fiscal Notes.