His speaker bid has centered around the long-standing tradition, continued under Phelan, of House speakers appointing members of the minority party to chair committees. Tony Tinderholt, an Arlington Republican who is among the Legislature’s most conservative members. Phelan is somewhat insulated from Patrick’s attacks by the broad support he enjoys among House Republicans, who in a closed-door meeting last month voted 78-6 to endorse him as speaker - a sign he faces little risk of being supplanted Tuesday, when the Legislature will gavel in and the full 150-member House will formally select a speaker. He rose to the speakership by attracting support from a mix of Democrats and Republicans. Phelan answers to a much different constituency: his own chamber and his relatively safe Southeast Texas district. “And the House, by its very nature, is contradictory to the Senate as a whole." ‘Conservatives are in charge’Īs a statewide elected official, Patrick's path to power runs largely through Republican primary voters, whom he has won over with a unique grasp of the right-wing movement in Texas. “Dan Patrick is a very, very powerful elected official, and he likes to get things done in the fashion that he believes they should be done,” said veteran Austin lobbyist Bill Miller. Patrick is also thought to have instigated former President Donald Trump’s out-of-the-blue attack on Phelan later that fall, in which Trump accused the speaker of “weak RINO leadership.” The Patrick-Phelan relationship has been strained since 2021, when the lieutenant governor accused his House counterpart of slow-walking conservative priority legislation and mishandling Democrats’ summer quorum break that held up a GOP voting bill. Proposed legalization of casinos and sports betting: While casino and sports betting companies are making a big push in Texas, big hurdles remain in the Senate. Republicans have largely balked at the idea and instead focused on hardening school security and bolstering mental health resources.Įlection law changes aimed at Harris County: After a midterm marked by a slew of election administration mishaps in the nation's third-largest county, Republicans are considering laws that would give the state more oversight over future elections.īail reform: Republicans are set to take another crack at amending the Texas Constitution to give judges more leeway to deny bail outright for certain defendants. School safety/mental health/gun control in response to Uvalde shooting: Democrats are pushing for new restrictions such as raising the minimum age to purchase firearms. The state’s electric grid runs predominantly on gas. Dan Patrick, want to incentivize more natural gas power plants in Texas. Reforms to the state power grid: Some Republicans, including Lt. Private school vouchers/school choice: Proponents of vouchers will have to win over Republicans in the House, which has routinely rejected the idea of using taxpayer funds for private schooling. Lawmakers will have to decide on the future of the effort and how to afford the steep cost. That’s compared with $800 million on border security in the state’s most recent two-year budget. Greg Abbott’s crackdown known as Operation Lone Star. Infrastructure maintenance and expansion: House Speaker Dade Phelan has singled out broadband internet and rural roads as areas badly in need of attention, calling the road quality “atrocious” in parts of the Permian Basin that are heavily used by oil and gas producers.īorder security spending: Texas has spent over $4 billion on border security in the past year and a half, nearly all of it on Gov. The questions: How much, and how to do so? Property tax relief: With a projected $27 billion surplus, top Republicans have pledged to give some back to taxpayers.
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