BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The Texas legislative session begins on Tuesday in Austin and what happens over the next 140 days at the state capitol will touch the lives of just about every Texan and resident throughout the state. But first, a speaker of the house must be elected.
What to expect as the 89th Texas legislative session gets underway
Mark Jones, a professor in the Department of Political Science at Rice University, told KBTX on First News at Four on Monday that Dade Phelan had insufficient support and handed the reigns to Representative Dustin Burrows (R-83). But Rep. David Cook (R-96), who is running against Burrows, has more Republican support.
“We have a situation now where 57 of the 88 Republicans support David Cook. 31 of the 88 do not support him, most of whom are aligned with Dustin Burrows. Burrows’ route to, essentially, the speakership goes through winning a majority of the support of Democrats- something that the Cook supporters don’t necessarily like,” he explained.
Moreover, the policies that will get passed during the session will depend on who is elected.
“If David Cook, a more conservative or Republican who would rely almost exclusively on Republican support, is the speaker then we’re likely to see more conservative legislation passed. If, however, Dustin Burrows is the speaker, he will be relying on the majority of Democrats to retain him,” added Jones.
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