AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Legislature voted to make a big change in how they conduct business.
The Texas House of Representatives adopted new rules for this legislative session that prohibit the appointment of Democrats as committee chairs. With a vote of 116 to 23, the Texas House snubbed a decades-long tradition of giving some committee chair positions to members of the minority party.
“We took an important step in reflecting the will of Texas voters. I voted to approve a new House rule ensuring committee leadership aligns with the majority party. This change is a win for conservative values and priorities, and it honors the trust Texans placed in Republicans to lead,” said Rep. Jeff Leach, a Republican representing District 67 in the Texas House.
“If there are democrats out there who are upset about what’s happened today your best revenge is to help make sure we flip the Texas House of Representatives and then we make Republicans live by their own rules,” said Rep. Gene Wu, a Democrat representing District 137 in the Texas House.
ALSO | Texas State Bar seeks to dismiss lawsuit against Ken Paxton for challenging 2020 election
The new rules for this legislative session do require that committee vice chairmanships be given to Democratic members, who are outnumbered 88-62 in the Texas House.
“Today’s passage of the House Rules Resolution presented the first major procedural challenge for this body. The elimination of Democratic chairs on committees breaks with the longstanding bipartisan tradition of the Texas House. Committees are meant to leverage members’ diverse expertise to best serve the people of Texas. While I am concerned about this partisan move, I remain hopeful that the creation of new permanent standing subcommittees and expanded roles for vice chairs will provide opportunities for members to contribute their invaluable experiences to shine through the legislative process,” said Rep. Ramon Romero, Jr., a Democrat representing District 90 in the Texas House.
Some political experts agree that the trade-off of no chair positions for all vice-chair positions does not bode well for democrats during this session.
“A chair has very strong agenda power. That is, they can decide when a committee meets, how long it meets, the type of discussions, and they can effectively drive a lot of the narrative and conversation around any amendment process,” said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University.
The Texas Republican Party says the change will limit the influence of Democratic members and not allow them to stiff-arm the conservative agenda.
