Quick Takes
- Senate Finance Committee hearing begins later today
- Preference cards for House Committees were finalized last week; assignments are expected soon
- Sign up today for a special Legislative Budget Primer on Wednesday, February 1, at 9:00 am. This webinar will feature a discussion between NTC State Affairs Chair Scott Orr, Fidelity Investment, and NTC Lobbyist Marc Rodriguez. Join Scott and Marc as they address questions surrounding the possibilities and limitations of the state’s record-setting surplus. Click here to register.
State Report
It was a relatively quiet week at the State Capitol, with the legislature only convening for floor sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. The House and Senate are both expected to follow that same schedule this week. The House convenes at 2 pm Tuesday, January 31st, while the Senate will meet that morning at 11 am. However, various trade groups and organizations have descended on the Capitol daily to advocate and meet with members and staff to discuss issues of interest.
Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) convened the Senate Special Committee on Redistricting for a series of public hearings held Wednesday, January 25th, through Saturday, January 29th. The current Texas Senate redistricting plan was passed by the 87th Texas Legislature during the 3rd Called Session in October of 2021. Lawmakers were unable to take up redistricting during their regular session due to a delay in Texas timely receiving the 2020 census data. Senator Huffman has stated that she filed the 2023 redistricting bill for the Senate to ratify the maps previously approved by the legislature in October of 2021 since the Texas Constitution requires the redistricting of Texas House and Senate seats during the first regular session following publication of census numbers.
Although Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick released Senate committee assignments last Monday, the only other committee moving forward with scheduling meetings at this time is Senate Finance, also led by Senator Huffman. Hearings on the Senate version of the budget bill begin today, January 30th, and are scheduled through Friday, February 17th. Meanwhile, House committee preference cards were due to be submitted to Speaker Dade Phelan last week, and committee assignments are anticipated in the next two weeks.
Bill filings have surpassed 2,300 between the House and Senate, with six weeks remaining until the bill filing deadline. Lawmakers ultimately filed more than 6,900 bills in 2021. The 88th Texas Legislature is on target to exceed that number by the March 10th bill filing deadline.
For questions regarding the legislative session, please reach out to Patrick Brophey.
