PHCC Legislative Update

The House Republican Caucus convened December 7th intending to endorse a single candidate for Speaker of the House they would all support in unity on January 14th. Representative David Cook emerged as the Republican alternative to current Speaker Dade Phelan who was steadfast in seeking his third term as Speaker of the House. However, Speaker Phelan abruptly withdrew his candidacy a few days prior to the caucus meeting and Representative Dustin Burrows surfaced as a new candidate in his place. Ultimately, the House Republican Caucus endorsed Representative Cook without total caucus consensus and both Cook and Burrows continue to maintain they have each secured the votes to be elected Speaker when the House convenes in January. At this time, Cook’s candidacy appears to rely completely on Republican support while Burrows will require support from Democrats. The House leadership remains unresolved at this point heading toward the January vote.
 
Lawmakers continue to pre-file legislation with more than 2,000 bills having already been filed. The filing period runs through March 14th. The 89th Texas Legislature is on pace to break the record for the total number of bills filed in a regular session. Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick have both announced their priority legislation will be the passage of school choice legislation in 2025.
 
State Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced at a recent meeting of the Austin Chamber that lawmakers will have a budget surplus of approximately $20 billion heading into the 89th legislative session. He also told attendees that Texas would be the world’s eighth largest economy if it were its own nation. Hegar will officially unveil his numbers when he releases the biennial revenue estimate ahead of the legislative session.
 
State Representative Ramon Romero from Fort Worth has been elected as chair of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. Representative Romero was first elected to the legislature in 2014 and was the first Hispanic from Tarrant County to serve in the Texas House. The House Democratic Caucus elected Gene Wu from Houston to lead its membership. Representative Wu succeeds Trey Martinez Fischer as the caucus chair.
 
The Texas Supreme Court overturned a trial court ruling that would have required Attorney General Ken Paxton and three of his top deputies to sit for a deposition in the Whistleblower lawsuit filed against him by several former employees. The Court held that since the attorney general’s office has agreed not to contest the lawsuit, the sworn testimony of General Paxton and his deputies is not necessary. Four former employees sued General Paxton under the Whistleblower Act alleging he improperly fired them after they reported the attorney general to the FBI.
 
Saturday, December 14th marked the end of the campaign contribution period in Texas. Lawmakers and statewide elected officials are prohibited by law from accepting campaign contributions 30 days prior to the regular session commencing and 30 days following the final day of the regular session.
The list of Texans announced by President Trump’s team as nominees for positions in the Trump Administration include John Ratcliffe (C.I.A.), Scott Turner (Housing), and Brooke Rollins (Agriculture). Tulsi Gabbard (D.N.I.) and Elon Musk (Government Efficiency) also reside in Texas

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