AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas House of Representatives decided to ban members of the minority party from chairing committees in a vote on Thursday. The vote came after months of Texas conservatives calling for House Republicans to ban Democrats from being the top rank on a committee so that lawmakers can focus on passing conservative legislation first.
House Democrats will instead hold vice-chairmanships for every single committee, a move which upset some Republican members who believe it will give more power to the minority party.
The rules change was approved by 61 Republicans and 55 Democrats. “It has hurt Democrats and reduced our power but at least gives us some ability to interact in the process and have our constituents needs met,” State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, said in a news conference following the vote.
State Rep. Mitch Little, R-District 65, was one of the Republicans who voted against the rules change. He said he had concerns with the language of the rules and felt it allowed Democratic vice-chairs to schedule any matter in the committee they please.
“This device has consequences, the most obvious of which is the ability to clog up the committee calendars with lefty bills, grandstanding witnesses and high theater,” Little said on his X account. He intended to propose an amendment to clear up the language in the rules but that was never voted on.
During the House debate, State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, filed a motion to end the debate and vote on the rules without any proposed amendments. He needed 25 signatures from other House members to call for the motion and have the entire House vote on it.
After his motion, a group of Republicans led by State Rep. Mike Schofield, R-Katy, spoke against the motion and warned members it would set a dangerous precedent in the session moving forward.
“We are now going to do something that is usually considered the ‘nuclear option’ and people yell and scream about it even after hours of debate,” Schofield said to the floor. “And I promise you, if you do this to us, we will do it to you.”
Patterson’s motion passed with 107 members voting yes.
With the House rules finally passed, the legislative body will now move on to the committee assignment process. Each member will be given committee preference cards and asked to fill out which committees they would like to serve on. Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows will decide who will serve on each committee and subcommittee.
