State Republican Executive Committeewoman Jill Glover is calling on citizens to contact their elected officials regarding a Texas House rule to ban Democrat committee chairs.
During the March Republican primary, 81 percent of Republican voters indicated they agree that “the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature should end the practice of awarding committee chairmanships to Democrats.”
In June, more than 5,000 delegates to the Republican Party of Texas convention voted to include banning democrats from holding committee chairmanships as a legislative priority.
Glover highlighted the fact that multiple pieces of conservative legislation were killed by Democrat committee chairs.
“Three of our priority bills died in committees chaired by Democrats,” explains Glover.
“HB 1569, a religious freedom bill died in Business and Industry, a committee chaired by Democrat Rep. Chris Turner. HB 4537, a School Choice bill authored by Rep. Mayes Middleton, was killed by Public Education Committee Chairman, Democrat Rep. Harold Dutton. The strongest bill to protect historic monuments, HB 446 authored by Reps. Allison, Ashby, Clardy, Bell (K.), and Murr, would have increased criminal penalties for damaging or destroying monuments. But it was killed in the Criminal Jurisprudence committee chaired by Democrat Rep. Nicole Collier.”
Glover said, “given the track record, Republicans have no reason to expect priority legislation to be passed through any committee chaired by Democrats. These chairmanships also allow Democrats to raise large sums of lobby money that will be used to defeat Republicans in elections.”
Current House Speaker Dade Phelan has supported the practice while his opponent, State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington), voted against it last year.
State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City) proposed a rule change that would end the practice in a House Administration committee hearing earlier this week.
Glover is calling on citizens to contact their state representative and Speaker Phelan to “ask[ing] that they support the rule change to ban Democrat chairs.”
