Although the legislature gaveled out on Wednesday and is not set to reconvene until this coming Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick released his list of committee assignments for the 86th legislative session.
“These committee assignments reflect the proven leadership, commitment, solid work ethic and wide range of expertise of the 31 senators who have been elected by the people of Texas to represent them,” said Patrick. “I am confident they can make this the most productive and successful legislative session in Texas history.”
As expected, State Sen. Jane Nelson (R–Flower Mound) will once again chair the Senate Finance Committee.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R–Houston), who has long been a vocal advocate for property tax reform and relief, will chair the new Committee on Property Tax. Bettencourt had previously chaired the Select Committee on Property Tax Reform during the interim.
State Sen. Kel Seliger (R–Amarillo) was moved from chairing the Higher Education Committee to chairing the Agriculture Committee. He was replaced by State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe), a change that higher education reform advocates should find encouraging.
Freshman State Sen. Angela Paxton (R–McKinney) was appointed to the Business & Commerce Committee, Natural Resources & Economic Development Committee, as well as the Education Committee. She was also named the Vice Chair of the Property Tax Committee.
Freshman State Sen. Pat Fallon (R–Little Elm) was appointed the Vice Chair of the Senate Administration Committee and will also serve on the Education Committee, Intergovernmental Relations Committee, and State Affairs.
And State Sen. Pete Flores (R–Pleasanton), who replaced the disgraced Democrat State Sen. Carlos Uresti in a special election last year, will serve on the Criminal Justice Committee, Finance Committee, Health and Human Services Committee, as well as Natural Resources & Economic Development.
House Committees are expected to be announced by Speaker Dennis Bonnen in the coming weeks.
The complete list of Senate committee assignments may be viewed here.
