As of this writing, we are one day in to a 140 day legislative session. In the Senate, new and re-elected Senators have been sworn is as well as officers of the Senate. In addition, Senator Brandon Creighton was elected to be the Senate President pro-tempore, and as such, will serve as the president of the Senate when the lieutenant governor is out of state. In addition, he will serve as the governor when the governor and lieutenant governor are out of state.
In the House, all members, freshmen and incumbents were sworn in, and a speaker was elected. As you may recall, former Speaker Dade Phelan, (R) Beaumont, faced a primary opponent last March and was forced into a runoff. Sensing weakness, several House members began to line up to mount a campaign to oppose Phelan for the office of Speaker. Phelan had drawn criticism from within his own party for his support of the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, as well as his practice of appointing Democrats as committee chairs.
Last December, facing an uphill battle to retain his coveted leadership position, as Representative David Cook gained the endorsement of the House Republican Caucus (Caucus), Phelan announced he was withdrawing from the speaker race. Following that announcement, Representative Dustin Burrows, (R) Lubbock, announced his candidacy for Speaker, and as they say, the race was on.
The Texas House in this Legislature is comprised of 62 Democrats and 88 Republicans totaling 150 House members. A simple majority (76) is required to win the office of Speaker.
Although endorsed by the Caucus, Cook failed to garner the support of all Republicans. Burrows, however, was able to secure the support of most Democrats and enough Republicans to make for a very competitive race.
Soon after the Session began today at noon, Secretary of State Jane Nelson, began the Speaker election where we saw Burrows, Cook, and Representative Ane-Maria Rodriguez-Ramos, (D) Richardson, nominated for Speaker. Rodriguez-Ramos was eliminated in the first round. In the second round of voting, Burrows prevailed on a vote of 85-55 in his favor, with 9 Democrats registering present-not voting.
As you may know, the Speaker determines the agenda of the House, as well as appoints all committee chairs and committee membership. Due to Burrows close alliance with Phelan, I don’t expect a large shake-up of committees, but I do expect a continuation of the practice of Democrats continuing to be named as committee chairs and maintain other leadership positions.
It is also expected that those Republicans that supported Burrows will face significant challenges from within the Republican in the coming days. The Republican Party of Texas has threatened those that opposed Cook with primary challengers in 2026, and I’m certain that will come to pass for at least a few.
In matters of particular interest to irrigators, I have not identified any legislation filed thus far threatening your industry. Legislation can be filed without objection through the 60th day of the session and I will continue to monitor this until the filing deadline occurs.
As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions, concerns, or comments you may have.
I am privileged to represent you in your state capitol.
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