The Texas House stuck with its tradition of awarding committee chairmanships to both parties, but Democrats, who are outnumbered in the 150-member chamber, received fewer positions of power than they did in 2021 during the last legislative session.
Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, announced his committee chairmanship picks.
“I want you to know that everything that you requested was taken with the utmost deliberate care and utmost respect for yourself and your district,” the second-term House leader told members before his list was read aloud on the House floor. “My goal is for every single one of you to have the tools you need to be a vital part of this House and accomplish what you came here to do.”
Republicans, who hold a comfortable 86-64 House majority, won many of the most prestigious assignments: Angleton’s Greg Bonnen, a six-term veteran was again tapped to head the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, and Corpus Christi’s Todd Hunter, who is among the chamber’s most senior members, given reign over State Affairs. The State Affairs Committee traditionally handles many of the most consequential, and often most controversial, bills in any given session.
Nine Democrats were given chairmanships:
- El Paso’s Joe Moody (Criminal Jurisprudence)
- Robstown’s Abel Herrero (Corrections)
- Dallas County’s Victoria Neave Criado (County Affairs)
- Houston’s Harold Dutton (Juvenile Justice and Family Issues)
- Houston’s Senfronia Thompson (Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety)
- Mission’s Oscar Longoria (Business and Industry)
- Uvalde’s Tracy King (Natural Resources)
- Edinburg’s Bobby Guerra (Resolutions Calendars)
- Edinburg’s Terry Canales (Transportation)
Notably, Phelan named Fort Worth Republican Charlie Geren to be speaker pro tem. The position is largely ceremonial, but was previously held by Moody in the last legislative session until Phelan stripped him of the title during the Democrats’ quorum break.
Public Education gets Republican chairman
Arguably one of the biggest shake ups was on the Public Education Committee. Phelan picked Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, to lead the group, taking the chairmanship from the minority party.
Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, previously held the position during the last legislative session, where he helped slow the progress of a controversial bill that restricted transgender youth’s ability to participate in sports until Phelan redirected the legislation to a Republican-chaired special committee during a special session. House Bill 25 ultimately passed.
The Public Education Committee is set to be the stage of a number of battles this session with Republicans looking to push a school voucher program that faces fierce opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based conservative think tank, applauded Buckley’s appointment in a news release Wednesday.
“Representative Buckley will be an excellent chair for the House Public Education Committee, and we look forward to working with them this legislative session,” said Mandy Drogin, campaign director for TPPF’s Next Generation Texas initiative. “This is an important first step in ensuring that Texans have a system that respects the parent and ensures transparency and a high-quality education on school campuses.”
Why committee assignments matter in the Texas House
Every piece of legislation that lawmakers act on is vetted through committees, both in the House and Senate. The Senate named its panels late last month, about two weeks into the 140-day session that started Jan. 10.
Each committee member, regardless of party, gets to vote on whether to send a bill to the full chamber. But it’s up to the committee chairs to decide which bills even get hearings and which ones get passed over.
And even if a bill is heard, the committee chairs decide if and when any vote will be called. Each committee has a vice chairman — often from a different party than the chairman — but vice chairs traditionally adhere to a chairman’s wishes when they preside over a panel when the chairman is absent.
Why have a Democratic chairman?
Many hardline conservatives in and out of the Legislature have tried to pressure Phelan away from giving committee chairmanships to Democrats but the speaker made clear he intended to continue the tradition. Dating back to when Democrats were in charge of the House, tradition held that chairmanships would be handed out at the discretion of the speaker, and each has seen value in giving at least some members of the opposition party a seat at the adults’ table.
Matt Rinaldi, a former state representative who now chairs the Texas Republican Party, saw a mixed bag in this year’s bipartisan assignments.
“The good: Opposition to Democrat Chairs clearly had an effect, as the # of Dems in leadership was significantly reduced,” Rinaldi said in a tweet. “The bad: Republicans awarded 8 of 33 standing committees to Democrats, including putting left wing Democrats in charge of important & partisan policy areas like criminal law, business, family Issues, and youth health.”
What the House’s top Democrat is saying
“As chairman of the House Democrats, it comes as no surprise that a Republican speaker would want fewer Democrats in leadership,” state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, “What I don’t understand is why fewer women and minorities were appointed to leadership despite the speaker himself lauding that the Texas House is more diverse than ever before.
“It is a disservice to these committees and to Texas to intentionally reduce the voices of women and communities of color in leadership.”
What’s next in the Legislature?
With the House and Senate having made their committee assignments, the bills lawmakers have filed since November can be scheduled for hearings.
That means individuals and interest groups with stakes in the outcome will be increasing their presence in the Capitol to either testify for or against the legislation on their radar or open back-channel connections to target lawmakers and their staffs in hopes to influence outcomes.
Who’s in charge?
Here is a list of the chairs and vice chairs of the Texas House Committees for the 88th legislative session. For a list of all the members on each committee go to the committee page on Texas Legislature Online.
- Agriculture and Livestock:
- Chair: Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson, R-Waco
- Appropriations:
- Chair: Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Mary González, D-Clint
- Business and Industry:
- Chair: Rep. Oscar Longoria, D-Mission
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton
- Calendars:
- Chair: Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas
- Corrections:
- Chair: Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Kyle Kacal, R-College Station
- County Affairs:
- Chair: Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Lynn Stucky, R-Denton
- Criminal Jurisprudence:
- Chair: Rep. Joseph Moody, D-El Paso
- Vice-Chair: Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield
- Culture, Recreation and Tourism:
- Chair: Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco
- Defense and Veterans’ Affairs:
- Chair: Rep. Terry M. Wilson, R-Marble Falls
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Ray Lopez, D-San Antonio
- Elections:
- Chair: Rep. Reggie Smith, R-Sherman
- Vice-Chair: Rep. John H. Bucy III, D-Austin
- Energy Resources:
- Chair: Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Eddie Morales Jr., D-Eagle Pass
- Environmental Regulation:
- Chair: Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa
- Vice-Chair: Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-Mission
- General Investigating:
- Chair: Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston
- Higher Education:
- Chair: Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Dennis Paul, R-Houston
- Homeland Security and Public Safety:
- Chair: Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston
- House Administration:
- Chair: Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Sheryl Cole, D-Austin
- Human Services:
- Chair: Rep. James B. Frank, R-Wichita Falls
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas
- Insurance:
- Chair: Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston
- International Relations and Economic Development:
- Chair: Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Richardson
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Claudia Ordaz Perez, D-El Paso
- Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence:
- Chair: Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch
- Juvenile Justice and Family Issues:
- Chair: Rep. Harold V. Dutton Jr., D-Houston
- Vice-Chair: Rep. John Lujan, R-San Antonio
- Land and Resource Management:
- Chair: Rep. DeWayne Burns, R-Cleburne
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Glenn Rogers, R-Graford
- Licensing and Administrative Procedures:
- Chair: Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston
- Local and Consent Calendars:
- Chair: Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Rhetta Andrews Bowers, D-Garland
- Natural Resources:
- Chair: Rep. Tracy King, D-Batesville
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Ed Thompson, R-Pearland
- Pensions, Investments and Financial Services:
- Chair: Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Stan Lambert, R-Abilene
- Public Education:
- Chair: Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Alma Allen, D-Houston
- Public Health:
- Chair: Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Elizabeth “Liz” Campos, D-San Antonio
- Redistricting:
- Chair: Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie
- Resolutions Calendars:
- Chair: Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-Mission
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Gary Gates, R-Richmond
- State Affairs:
- Chair: Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Ana Hernandez, D-Houston
- Transportation:
- Chair: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg
- Vice-Chair: Rep. John Raney, R-College Station
- Urban Affairs:
- Chair: Rep. J. M. Lozano, R-Kingsville
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Gary Gates, R-Richmond
- Ways and Means:
- Chair: Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston
- Select Committee, Health Care Reform:
- Chair: Rep. Sam Harless, R-Spring
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin
- Select Committee, Youth Health and Safety:
- Chair: Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston
- Vice-Chair: Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston