AUSTIN, Texas — In just under one month, one hundred and eighty-one Texas state representatives and senators will return to the Texas Capitol for the eighty-ninth legislative session. With significant Republican strongholds, and conservative gains in the election, analysts predict this session will likely be even more conservative than previous ones.
Republicans have had a stronghold in Texas politics for decades. Following November’s election, one Senate seat and two House seats flipped for Republicans, and several moderate Republicans in the House were replaced with more conservative ones.
“It is going to be a more conservative session because we have more Republicans,” Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward’s University in Austin, said. “And because of that, it means that they can push more conservative policies without having to worry about having to peel off Democratic votes to support them.”
One critical factor could still determine the direction of the legislature: the selection of a Speaker of the House. Currently, the race appears split between David Cook and Dustin Burrows, who’ve split their party caucus between more conservative and moderate factions, respectively. The victor of that race will likely determine the direction of the legislature.
The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House will share their legislative priorities heading into the session. Early signs have pointed toward some of those priorities being red-meat social issues. Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, both, have named school choice and the allocation of taxpayer money toward private schooling as a top priority.
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Patrick, this month, said he wants the Senate to pursue a ban on THC products in Texas. He also wants the legislature to revisit a policy that did not pass last session, requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in Texas public school classrooms.
“Where I think the Republicans are going to go is a lot of those social issues,” Smith said. “Sorts participation, [diversity, equity, and inclusion] policies in public universities, attacks on universities in general and how they handle protests Things like this are going to be issues that are going to be on the agenda.”
Besides school choice, Abbott and other state leaders have also said they want to focus on education policy this session, including fully funding public schools and providing teacher pay raises and incentives.
“There will also be a strong effort in The Texas legislature this session from Republicans to provide more property tax relief,” Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, said. “Whether it’s through expanding the homestead exemption or, once again, engaging in compression to reduce the amount of school property taxes people pay via their rates. But one thing is certain, that property tax relief will be a top agenda item, and I suspect at the end of the session, we will have some type of relief going for Texas homeowners.”
The 89th legislative session begins on January 14. On that first day, House lawmakers will elect a Speaker of the House.