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AUSTIN - Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush got some positive feedback from Senate budget-writers Thursday when he made his pitch for tens of millions of additional state dollars for the Alamo project.

The Senate Finance Committee’s starting-point budget doesn’t come close to the $75 million in state general-revenue dollars that Bush is requesting for the next two years to help restore the shrine known as the cradle of Texas liberty and redevelop surrounding land.

Finance Committee Chair Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said Bush’s Alamo funding request “clearly is important to all of us.” But with the state facing a tight budget picture, she stressed that it’s crucial for state support to be accompanied by city and private donations.

Bush concurred, saying the goal is for the state to be a partner but not to bear the majority cost of the project estimated at north of $300 million. He cited a fresh letter from city officials to senators about San Antonio’s funding commitment.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, suggested that Bush’s efforts to trim his agency’s budget in other areas help his request for more funding for priority projects.

Bush also threw in a sweetener: He’ll try to get rock star Phil Collins to make a return visit in support of the project.

Collins, an Alamo fan, came to the Texas Capitol in 2015 and was made an honorary Texan. He has donated Alamo artifacts under a deal worked out with Bush’s predecessor as land commissioner, Jerry Patterson.

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