The House and Senate conducted limited activity this week primarily due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, inaugural events in Washington D.C. and the winter weather event that limited travel for many lawmakers and staff early in the week.
The budget bill, HB 1 and SB 1, was filed Wednesday by House Appropriations Chairman Greg Bonnen and Senate Finance Chairwoman Joan Huffman. The House and Senate alternate which body advances the budget; it will be SB 1 in 2025. Both versions expend over $330 billion including allocations for property tax relief, public education funding including school choice, border security, infrastructure and more. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick issued a statement summarizing SB 1 shortly after it was filed. Senator Huffman has scheduled Finance Committee hearings each weekday beginning January 27th through February 14th to allow state agencies, stakeholders and the public to provide feedback on the proposed budget. Each Friday during that period is reserved for pending business, if necessary. Although committee appointments in the House have not yet been announced, the filing of HB 1 by current Appropriations Chairman Bonnen is an indication he will retain leadership over that committee under recently elected House Speaker Dustin Burrows. Following the filing of HB 1, Speaker Burrows released a statement highlighting several portions while pointing out the bill is substantially similar to the base budget filed in the Senate.
The House reconvened Thursday afternoon to take up the House Rules Resolution which provides for the operations and procedures that will govern the House for the 89th legislative session. The rules provide that only majority party members may chair standing committees while the vice chair positions can only be held by members of the minority party. The number of standing committees was reduced from 34 to 30 through the elimination of eight standing committees and establishment of four new standing committees. Jurisdiction of the matters under the abolished committees was mostly transferred to other committees. The new standing committees are Delivery of Government Efficiency, Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs, Intergovernmental Relations, and Trade, Workforce, & Economic Development. Multiple subcommittees were also created under the rules adopted by the House. Following passage of the House rules, Speaker Burrows announced committee preference cards are due to his office by 5:00 pm Tuesday, January 28th. The Housekeeping Resolution, HR 3, which addresses the administrative operations and budgets of the House, will be taken up when members return to Austin next week.
Senator Brandon Creighton filed SB 2, establishment of an education savings account program, Friday morning. The bill represents a top priority for Governor Greg Abbott and other leaders. Senator Creighton issued a statement detailing the Texas Education Freedom Act which allocates $10,000 annually for each student enrolled in the program or $11,500 annually if the student has a disability. The proposal will be taken up in Senate Education K-16 next Tuesday starting at 11:00 am.
The House will return to the Floor Monday at 4:00 pm while the Senate has adjourned until 11:00 am Tuesday, January 28th.
