Quick Takes
State Report
The 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature began last Tuesday with members taking their respective oaths of office. Secretary of State Jane Nelson presided over the House until Representative Dade Phelan (HD 21 – Beaumont) was reelected by a vote of 145-3 for a second term as Speaker of the House of Representatives despite an unsuccessful challenge by Representative Tony Tinderholt (HD 94 – Arlington). The Senate elected Senator Kelly Hancock (SD 9 – Tarrant County) by acclamation to serve as the President Pro Tempore of that body. In this role, Sen. Hancock will preside over the Texas Senate in the absence of the lieutenant governor. Both chambers addressed early session housekeeping issues for the remainder of the week. House and Senate rules were adopted, senators drew lots to determine whether their current term is a two-year or four-year term, and the legislature convened for a joint session to canvass the votes for governor and lieutenant governor before adjourning until Tuesday, January 17th, for the inauguration.
Contention over the Speaker’s race was primarily due to the debate of allowing Democratic Chairs to House Committees. This longstanding tradition of power-sharing with the minority party, supported by Phelan, has become a chief concern of a small faction of Republican lawmakers. Nineteen House Republicans publicly signed a pledge to ban Democrat Chairs. However, only 3 House Members voted against Phelan last Tuesday. The dissenting votes were placed by North Texas Delegation members: Bryan Slaton (HD 2 – Royse City), Nate Schatzline (HD 93 – Fort Worth), and Tony Tinderholt (HD 94 – Arlington).
Another controversial debate came during the vote for House Rules (HR 4) on Wednesday of last week. A notable change to the rules was the addition of strict penalties, including a $500 per day fine and the possibility of “reprimand, censure, or expulsion” for House Members who engage in a quorum break, such as the House Democrats did when attempted to block the election bill during the 87th special sessions.
State Comptroller Glenn Hegar released an updated Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) to the 88th Texas Legislature on Monday, January 9th. Lawmakers will have an estimated $188.2 billion in revenue for general-purpose spending, including a budget surplus of $32.7 billion expected to be left over from the current biennium. This is a projected revenue increase in excess of 25% compared to the budget for the current two-year period. In addition, the Economic Stabilization Fund, or the Rainy Day Fund, is estimated to reach more than $27 billion by the end of the 2024-2025 budget cycle.
The Senate Special Committee on Redistricting, led by Senator Joan Huffman, has scheduled daily public hearings between January 25th and January 28th to gather public input on legislative redistricting. Senator Huffman is conducting the hearings to ensure lawmakers comply with the constitutional requirement to take up redistricting in the first regular session after federal census information is provided to the state. The 87th Texas Legislature passed redistricting in a special session in 2021.
The pace of bill filings picked up this week, with more than 240 bills filed between the House and Senate, bringing the overall total to more than 1,750 bills filed. The House and Senate will reconvene for a joint session at 11 am today, Tuesday, January 17th, to attend the inauguration ceremony of Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
For questions regarding the legislative session, please reach out to Patrick Brophey.
