Serving in the Texas House of Representatives for 50 years, Senfronia Thompson, a Democrat from Houston, is one of nine Democrats appointed as House committee chairs by Republican Speaker Dade Phelan this session.
This session, Thompson was appointed to chair the newly created Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety. This is not the first time Thompson has been appointed as committee chair.
Last session, Thompson chaired the House Committee on Licensing and Administrative Procedures. Prior to that, she chaired the Committee on Public Health, where she killed legislation to ban abortion when a heartbeat is detected. From 2009 to 2017, Thompson chaired the Local and Consent Calendar Committee.
For the most part, Thompson has voted against conservative issues supported by Republican voters. Thompson’s record includes voting against requiring students to play in sports based on biological sex, requiring voters to register their physical address instead of a P.O. box when registering to vote, authorizing constitutional carry, and prohibiting schools to teach critical race theory.
Thompson has an overall career rating of F from Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. Young Conservatives of Texas gave Thompson a career rating of 17 out of 100 , in part for voting against constitutional carry and against protecting the oil and gas industry from federal overreach. From 2011 to 2019, Thompson received a rating of 0 from Texas Right to Life, though last session she received a score of 5.
In 2021 Thompson was one of more than 50 Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C., to deny the House quorum and block the consideration of election integrity reforms.
The Committee on Youth Health and Safety is a select committee, a temporary committee that will expire on the first day of the next session. This committee will be focused on Texas youth: child protective services, youth mental health services, schools and other educational institutions, the juvenile justice system, and social media and the effect it has on Texas youth.
Texans concerned about Thompson’s appointment can find contact information for House Speaker Phelan in Texas Scorecard’s Elected Officials Directory.
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