The Texas Legislature convenes for its 89th regular session at noon today, kicking off 140 days of wrangling over the business of the state.
Lawmakers will debate the future of public education, find ways to spend nearly $200 billion in tax money and wrestle over divisive issues like border security and abortion.
With Republicans holding strong majorities in both the House and Senate, the state’s 150 representatives and 31 senators will consider thousands of proposals, listen to hundreds of hours of public testimony and eventually pass close to 1,000 new laws that will go into effect over the following year.
Some of the biggest fireworks of opening day will involve the choice of speaker to lead the Texas House.
Reps. David Cook, R-Mansfield, Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, Ana Maria Ramos, D-Dallas, are vying for the gavel. The winner will be a Republican, but the GOP caucus has yet to settle on a consensus candidate.
Cook won a caucus vote in December with support from a majority of Republicans, but Burrows quickly announced that a coalition of Republicans and Democrats gave him the 76 votes needed to be selected speaker.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick – who presides over the Senate and clashed repeatedly with the departing speaker, Dade Phelan – criticized Burrows’ reliance on Democrats, saying it made him a “counterfeit speaker.”
The vote for speaker will take place shortly after House members take the oath of office.
Gov. Abbott gives senators 2 wish list priorities
12:52 p.m. update
The Texas Senate began its session with newly elected and reelected senators sworn in, with newly appointed Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock delivering the oath.
“This is an extraordinary privilege for the people who elected you and for you to be here for them. Stepping inside this brass rail is a special thing,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said after the oath.
Gov. Greg Abbott, accompanied by first lady Cecilia Abbott, spoke to the senators, mentioning two key issues he hopes the Legislature will tackle this session. First on his list was bail reform, a legislative push to increase or eliminate bail for people accused of a violent crime who have previous convictions.
“It is going to be up to us in the Senate and the House to make sure we do something about it so we stop criminals from killing other innocent people in our state,” Abbott said.
Abbott also spoke about what has been his key issue since 2023 – providing taxpayer money to subsidize tuition to public schools, also known as “school choice.”
“I can testify for a fact to the urgent pleas of thousands of Texans to please use your voice and use your vote this session to expand the opportunity for every parent to choose the school that’s best for their child,” Abbott said. “There’s a hunger for that.”
Following Abbott’s speech, Patrick said the Senate had passed a school voucher bill five times.
“We passed that school choice five times,” Patrick said. “We passed that bail bill five times. I don’t know who my partner is going to be across the hall, but we have passed that bill many times.”
3 House Republicans flip their votes for speaker
12:35 p.m. update
Shortly before the Texas House gaveled in for the start of the session, three House Republicans announced on social media they were switching their votes for speaker.
Rep. Dustin Burrows picked up two of Rep. David Cook’s supporters as Reps. Caroline Fairly of Amarillo and Cecil Bell of Magnolia said they would vote for Burrows. Both had previously said they would vote for Cook and were on his list of supporters.
Meanwhile, Rep. Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City flipped his support from Burrows to Cook, according to a social media post from Cook.
The legislative session is underway
12:30 p.m. update
In the Texas House, Secretary of State Jane Nelson called the representatives to order and swiftly moved the body toward an opening prayer and pledges to the U.S. and Texas flag.
“Today marks the beginning of 140 days of work on behalf of the people of Texas. There will be challenges and there will be debates, but remember we are all family. We are all Texans. We all care for each other,” Nelson said.
“Together, we will continue to be the best state in which to live and work and raise kids,” she said.
In the Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick began the session.
“Welcome everyone: family members, friends, supporters. Great to have you in this august body. Special day.” he said.
Austin Democrat asks: What would Jesus say to lawmakers?
11:18 a.m. update
Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said he woke up Tuesday with a question on his mind: What would Jesus do if he walked into the Texas Capitol and spoke to the Legislature?
Tuesday is the first day of the 89th regular session. Lawmakers will be sworn in this afternoon, and the Texas House will vote to elect a speaker.
But as lawmakers move to create new laws over the next 140 days, Talarico said the Legislature has a history of falling short of what Jesus would want.
“I think he would tell us in the words of Matthew 25: Depart from me, for I was hungry and you cut my food stamps,” Talarico, a theological seminary student, told reporters at a Capitol gathering of Democrats and religious leaders. “I was thirsty, and you eliminated my water break. I was a stranger, and you deported me and my family. I was sick, and you kicked me off my health insurance. I was in prison, and you didn’t even pay for air conditioning.”
If anyone asked when they had seen him hungry, thirsty, a stranger, sick or imprisoned, Jesus would respond: “Truly, I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me,” Talarico said.
Richardson Democrat will continue quest for speaker
10:45 a.m. update
Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos, D-Richardson, said in a social media post she will take her candidacy for House speaker to the floor vote.
Doing so means there will be there candidates for speaker: GOP Reps. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock and David Cook of Mansfield and Ramos.
It’s highly unlikely Ramos will become speaker. Republicans hold an 88-62 advantage over Democrats in the House. A candidate needs 76 votes to become speaker.
Ted Nugent gives loud street corner performance
10:40 a.m. update
When a rock legend is busking on a corner just south of the Capitol in downtown Austin, you might think it’s the beginning of SXSW.
But when you realize it’s Ted Nugent whaling on his Gibson electric and screaming about the government, you know exactly what day it is.
The Motor City Madman, conservative activist and fixture in the Republican-dominated Texas Capitol drew an enthusiastic crowd around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, a few hours before the opening session of the 89th Texas Legislature.
Of course, the timing was no coincidence.
“Remember: Constitution, right?” The Nuge reminded the gathering of 30 to 40 fans. “Stand up for freedom, trample the weak, hurdle the dead. We did that on Nov. 5, and I say we keep it going.”
Two men ran up to him in pinstripe business suits, holding a Trump-Vance sign. “Do you like this?” they asked.
Nugent laughed: “YA THINK?”
As he posed for pictures with fans, Nugent talked with them about some of his favorite issues – the rights of hunters, gun owners, and property owners – and slammed a state parks employee by name as being an anti-gun animal activist who supports gay “pornographic story time.”
“So be careful, Texas isn’t what Texas thinks it is,” Nugent said. “But we’re going to try to get it there.”
Supporters of Cook for speaker arrive by bus
10:01 a.m. update
Grassroots Republicans unloaded from chartered buses on the east side of the Texas Capitol on Tuesday morning and filed into the building, where they plan to urge Republican lawmakers to back Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, in the speaker’s race over Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock.
Cook won the Republican caucus vote to be the speaker nominee but must win a floor vote of the full House to be elected to the post.
Some supporters were wearing red shirts calling for no Democratic committee chairs, a point of contention for GOP members who believe the minority party should not be in charge of any panels.
Greg Murphy, a Travis County Republican precinct chair, said as many as 1,000 Republicans are being bused to Austin for the first day of the regular session.
Murphy was wearing a red shirt that read “BAN Democrat Chairs!” and holding 15 more on hangers to hand out to Republicans on another bus en route to the Texas Capitol.
They’re here “to encourage Republicans to follow the rules of their caucus and vote for the nominee of their caucus, David Cook,” he said. “The outward expression of this is ‘ban Democrat chairs.’ But the bigger expression is: Stand for conservative values, pass conservative legislation like you were voted in to do.”