After being installed as speaker by Democrats and a minority of Republicans, Dustin Burrows is leading the Texas House off to an unhurried start, with the rules debate being scheduled over a week into the session.
The House rules are one of the first orders of business each session, as lawmakers approve the stipulations over how the chamber will function over the course of the next 140 days.
More attention has been placed on the debate over the rules in recent years, however, due to proposals to ban Democrats from holding chairmanships.
In 2021, House members overwhelmingly voted down a proposal to end chairmanships for the minority party. In 2023, after Republican activists showed up to the Capitol, then-Speaker Dade Phelan did not even allow a vote on the issue, which has become a priority of the Republican Party of Texas.
During his campaign for the speakership, Burrows attempted to avoid the issue altogether by saying the House would have the opportunity to decide whether Democrats should be given chairmanships (though he would not say that he wouldn’t appoint them himself if such a rule was not passed).
In recent legislative sessions, House members have voted on the rules during the first few days of the session. This session, however, Burrows has announced it is his intent to wait until Wednesday, January 22.
The last time the rules were voted on this late was in 2009, the first session of former Speaker Joe Straus.
The delay is sparking concern for two reasons. The first concern is that any delay early on in the session could lead to conservative priorities being killed at the end of the session, as has happened repeatedly. And secondly, some worry that the additional time is being used to collect enough Republican opposition to vote down a rule amendment to ban Democrat chairs.
With 62 Democrats in the House, it would only take 14 Republicans to stop any proposal. For comparison, 36 Republicans joined Democrats to vote Burrows in as speaker over the GOP nominee, David Cook.
The House will, however, be taking up the Housekeeping Resolution on Thursday, January 16. While most of the resolution involves logistics like staff pay and office budgets, a proposal to allow the speaker to appoint an attorney for the House is raising eyebrows and questions over the separation of powers.
This comes after the Democrat-led House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee appointed State Rep. Jeff Leach (R–Plano) last year to represent the House in an effort to stop the execution of convicted child-killer Robert Roberson.
No ads. No paywalls. No government grants. No corporate masters.
Just real news for real Texans.
Support Texas Scorecard to keep it that way!
