It’s that time again: Today, the Texas Legislature gavels in to kick off the 89th legislative session. State lawmakers will have just 140 days to debate and approve – or tank – any newly proposed laws for the Lone Star State, plus pass the state’s budget for the next two fiscal years.
While that budget is technically the only thing the legislature is required to do each session under the state’s constitution, early indications from lawmakers show they have an ambitious agenda for this session.
Top issues already making waves include possibly ending the sale of hemp-derived cannabis products throughout the state, lowering property taxes, increasing funding for water infrastructure, a possible pay increase for teachers and, most notably, creating a voucher-like program that would allow Texas families to use public funds towards private schooling costs – a top priority for Governor Greg Abbott.
But before the political wheeling and policy dealing can commence, lawmakers have to take care of some foundational business. Day one of the legislature is mostly procedural; lawmakers will be sworn in, the Senate will pick a President pro tempore and the House will vote on a new speaker. That last item on that list is where things could get really interesting.
The race for Texas House speaker
Tuesday afternoon, the 150-member Texas House of Representatives will be electing one of their colleagues to lead the chamber. In sessions past, who that would be is usually a forgone conclusion at this point. But after Rep. Dade Phelan’s December announcement that he was dropping his bid for a third term amid challenges within his own Republican Party, who will replace Phelan is still up in the air.
Two main challengers have emerged in the heated battle for the speaker’s gavel: Rep. David Cook of Mansfield and Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock.
Cook has support from some top Texas Republicans, including Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Governor Greg Abbott has mostly stayed quiet about exactly who he’d want. However, on social media, Abbott recently posted that to achieve his desired outcome of passing a school choice bill, “we need a Texas House Speaker chosen by a majority of Republicans in accordance with the Republican Caucus Rules.”
Technically, that would be Cook, who received support from the majority of the caucus during a meeting back in December. But Burrows has been claiming he has the votes it takes to become the Speaker, even without a majority of the Republican Caucus voting in his favor.
If Burrows were to win with the support of House Democrats and breakaway Republicans, those members who backed Burrows would be breaking the rules of their caucus. The Texas GOP caucus requires all Republicans to vote in unison for their preferred candidate (Hypothetically, Republican House members who end up deviating from the rules could be censured and not allowed to run again in 2026.
Why does it matter who is Texas’ House speaker?
The role of Texas House speaker comes with lots of power. The speaker decides who will chair key legislative committees, plays an influential role in controlling what legislation gets voted on and is the person responsible for keeping up decorum in the Texas House.
Speakers also “have a great deal of influence over the day-to-day business of the House,” Alison Craig, an assistant professor at the University of Texas, recently told The Texas Newsroom.
Given the Republican’s dominance in the Texas Legislature, whomever wins the powerful speaker position will be a Republican. The real difference will be which type of Republican will hold the position.
Cook represents the further right side of the Texas GOP, who deem themselves the true conservatives. Amid the speaker battle, Burrows has been painted as a more moderate Republican, despite his voting record aligning with those further to the right.
The biggest difference here is what Gov. Abbott alluded to earlier: He knows Cook would back his voucher program, while there is a lack of confidence from some Republicans that Burrows would do the same.
Texas Democrats weigh in on the speaker race
With Republicans split on who to elect as speaker, Democrats are in a position to essentially act as tie breakers. On Monday, they met to talk about their priorities for this legislative session and, of course, the speaker’s race. While some have said they'd be voting for Rep. Ana-Marìa (D-Richardson) others have indirectly signaled that they would be voting for Burrows.
Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) believes the Speaker’s race is being influenced by outside sources who want to control the Texas government.
“Their names are Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, and they're the biggest Republican donors in the state. They've already bought our governor. They've bought our lieutenant governor. They've bought our attorney general. They've bought our state Senate. And now to complete their takeover. They're trying to buy the Texas House,” said Talarico.
While Talarico didn’t outright say which candidate he was speaking about, when the group of Democrats were asked to put a name to it, Rep. John H. Bucy III (D-Austin) shouted out, “David Cook.”