Lone Democratic chair among Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick committee assignments

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Monday introduced Senate committee assignments, maintaining his key lieutenants in management positions. And regardless of stress from conservative GOP activists to ban members of the minority celebration from main committees, Patrick reappointed Democrat John Whitmire to chair the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

In an announcement, Patrick, who presides over the Senate, stated the committee assignments would “ensure we succeed in addressing the priorities of the people of Texas.” In an acknowledgement of the controversy over appointing Democratic lawmakers to positions of energy, Patrick stated: “The overwhelming majority of bills voted on by the chamber will have bipartisan support. But make no mistake, the priority bills will address the concerns of the conservative majority in Texas.”

A small however vocal group of hardline conservative activists have pushed for legislative leaders like Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan to refrain from giving leadership positions to Democrats, arguing that they might maintain up the passage of conservative laws. Earlier this month, a whole bunch of activists streamed into the House and Senate galleries sporting brilliant pink shirts that learn, “Ban Democrat Chairs.”

The push additionally has garnered help from Texas Republican Party Chair Matt Rinaldi, a former state consultant. Banning Democratic committee chairs is among the celebration’s eight legislative priorities.

The debate has largely been centered on the House, which has a long-standing custom of appointing committee chairs from the minority celebration. Phelan, like audio system earlier than him, has argued that it contributes to a way of unity within the chamber and units the Texas Legislature aside from Congress’ rank divisions. He has pushed again on claims that Democrats tank GOP laws by saying conservative priorities which have the help of a majority of the chamber have been enacted into legislation.

But the difficulty has been much less contentious within the Senate. Patrick’s governing philosophy is that almost all celebration ought to management management positions. Under his tenure because the Senate boss, Democrats in management positions have dwindled. And Patrick has stated publicly that after Whitmire, of Houston, leaves the Senate, he’ll now not appoint any Democrats to steer committees.

Whitmire, who has served within the Senate since 1983 and lengthy led the panel that oversees legal justice laws, is running for Houston mayor in November.

Rinaldi appeared to approve of Patrick’s committee assignments and known as on Phelan to “announce a similar plan to reduce and eventually eliminate Democrat chairmen in the House, rather than continuing to defend the practice.”

“The Lieutenant Governor’s committee appointments position the Senate well to pass every Republican legislative priority this session,” Rinaldi stated in an announcement to The Texas Tribune. “We are also grateful for the Lt. Gov. being responsive to the party’s concerns regarding Democrat chairmen and reducing the number from 32% of committees before he took office to one during his tenure.”

Fourteen of the 15 standing Senate committees introduced Monday might be led by Republican lawmakers. A sixteenth particular committee on redistricting additionally might be run by a Republican.

Sen. Joan Huffman, a Republican from Houston, will chair the highly effective Senate Finance Committee and the chamber’s particular committee on redistricting. Huffman, a Patrick ally, took over the highly effective finance committee final 12 months after longtime Sen. Jane Nelson of Flower Mound, who had chaired the budget-writing committee since 2014, introduced she wouldn’t search reelection. Nelson was appointed Texas secretary of state by Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this month.

Huffman has spent months already engaged on the price range and final week launched the Senate’s first draft of the price range. She will even lead the redistricting committee, which is anticipated to do minimal work on the Senate’s political maps to appease doubts over the legality of final session’s redistricting course of.

Sen. Bryan Hughes of Mineola, one other Patrick ally, will even chair two committees: state affairs and jurisprudence. In the final legislative session, the Republican ran the highly effective state affairs committee, from which he handed a legislation banning abortions within the state after six weeks, one of the crucial restrictive payments within the nation on the time. (The U.S. Supreme Court reversed federal protections for abortions in 2022, successfully outlawing abortion in Texas nearly completely). Hughes additionally will take over the jurisprudence panel from Huffman.

Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican, maintained management of the Education Committee, which is able to now oversee increased training laws along with payments that affect Okay-12 studying. He additionally will even chair a brand new subcommittee on increased training.

Conservative lawmakers have promised to make training a prime focus, with leaders like Patrick concentrating on tenure in increased training and Creighton advocating for a “parental bill of rights” that may probably restrict what educators can educate kids about race, gender and intercourse in public colleges.

“We’re gearing up to advance one of the most conservative sessions in Texas history, a forward-thinking agenda this nation has not seen,” Creighton stated, throughout Abbott’s inauguration final week.

Touting the energy of the brand new freshman class, of which a number of members had served a number of phrases within the Texas House earlier than being elected to the Senate, Patrick appointed three first-term senators as vice chairs of committees.

Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, who had beforehand served 24 years within the House, would be the vice chair of the enterprise and commerce committee; Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, who served 16 years within the House, might be vice chair of the veteran affairs committee; and Sen. Kevin Sparks, a Midland Republican who’s Patrick’s conservative ally, might be vice chair of the nominations committee.

Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, who had served 4 years within the House earlier than being elected to the Senate, might be vice chair of the subcommittee on increased training.

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