AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Socked by sagging energy prices, Texas lawmakers have less than two months to strike a deal on an austere budget that threatens cuts to everything from higher education to Medicaid.

A spending bill tentatively passed early Friday by the GOP-controlled House also crystallized where hot-button issues over abortion, transgender rights and school vouchers stand heading into the final stretch.

A long drag on oil prices has left lawmakers about $6 billion short of holding the line on state services in Texas, which is adding roughly a half-million new residents a year. Raising ta...