Republican members of the Texas House are already telling constituents that school choice and other conservative priorities did not get done because there was not enough time available.
Thursday, Nov. 2, marks the 306th day of 2023. The legislature had 140 days of regular session, two complete special sessions of 30 days each, and now this third special session of which five days remain. That is to say, the Legislature has been in session for 225 days.
In that time, the Texas Senate completed all the work put before it. In some cases (such as school choice), Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the senators did the work several times over.
The House, on the other hand, took 5-day weekends for several months and refused to do substantive work for many days of the special sessions.
On the specific issue of school choice, GOP lawmakers knew it was a priority for the governor and the Republican Party of Texas since well before the legislative session – and has been for years, in fact. The House leadership under Dade Phelan chose not to work on it.
By contrast, the House announced and voted on the impeachment of the most conservative attorney general in the nation in 48 hours.
The House did not run out of time. The Phelan House ran out the clock.
