Priorities or Lack Thereof
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced two additional items to be added to his special session agenda.
- Texas Senate has already passed out four of the seven agenda items:
- Youth Sports
- Regulations on the restraints for dogs
- Property Tax Relief
- Constitutional Amendment for Bail Reform
- Texas House of Representatives has not considered any of the agenda items. They only convened twice last week and never referred bills to committees.
- Texas Senate Special Committee on Redistricting met twice over the weekend to consider proposed maps for both the 31 State Senate districts and 15 State Board of Education districts. The proposed maps were left pending but it’s possible they are passed out to the overall Senate this week for their consideration.
- Side-by-side comparison of proposed Senate District Map
- Texas House of Representatives has not yet made public their proposed map for all 150 House Districts.
Lawmakers Not Returning
- Thus far, 9 House lawmakers have announced they will not be seeking reelection. This list includes Republican State Reps. Chris Paddie (Marshall), Ben Leman (Iola), James White (Hillister), Scott Sanford (McKinney), Matt Krause (Haslet), and Jim Murphy (Houston). It also includes Democrat State Reps. Celia Israel (Austin), Michelle Beckley (Carrollton), and John Turner (Dallas).
- State Rep. Chris Paddie (R-Marshall) was recently censured by his home county in his district and has previously ended the legislative prospects of a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying.
- State Rep. Jim Murphy (R-Houston) has consistently voted with Democrats, against his fellow House Republican colleagues, and against Conservative legislative priorities.
- State Rep. James White (R-Hillister) is a candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner challenging the incumbent Sid Miller (R).
- State Rep. Matthew Krause (R-Haslet) is a candidate for Texas Attorney General challenging incumbent Ken Paxton (R).
- State Rep. Celia Israel (D-Austin) announced her intention to run for Mayor in the city of Austin.
- State Rep. Michelle Beckley (D-Carrollton) is a U.S. Congressional candidate challenging Freshman Republican Beth van Duyne.
- Thus far, 1 Senate lawmaker has announced they will not be seeking reelection in Republican State Sen. Dawn Buckingham (Lakeway).
- State Sen. Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway) is a candidate for Texas Land Commissioner.
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