What the Texas Legislature gives, it can take away. That’s the concern for the state’s 16 appellate courts, which have spent the past month looking for ways to reduce their spending.

In a Jan. 15 letter, Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus requested that each state agency and appellate court submit a plan identifying 5 percent that can be saved in their 2010-2011 appropriations.