The 2023 legislative session began at sharp noon Tuesday, with lawmakers and top Texas leaders returning to Austin with a cash-filled state treasury and Republicans retaining control of the reins.
The first of 140 days officially named the 88th Texas Legislature was an upbeat one, with showmanship overshadowing partisanship, even as leaders acknowledged the challenges ahead.
Family, friends, and supporters of state legislators filled the Capitol in support, filling the chamber of the House of Representatives and the galleries of both houses to witness the traditional swearing-in ceremony.
With Governor Greg Abbott back for a third term and the Senate once again controlled by fellow Republican Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick, the only real drama on Tuesday took place in the 150-member House of Representatives, where the speaker is elected by the members.
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House re-elected Phelan for a second term as a speaker
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to re-elect Republican Beaumont Dade Phelan for a second term as Speaker of the House 145–3 in the absence of two members, noting a challenge from fellow Republican Tony Tinderholt of Arlington, who promised to make sure committee chairmanship would come solely from Republican ratings.
The Republicans dominate the House 86-64, having increased their lead over the Democrats by one seat since the last session.
Phelan, in his first term, followed the House tradition of appointing at least a few minority party committee chairmen. But opponents on the right have criticized Phelan for the move, arguing that, in keeping with tradition, he is giving Democrats too much power, especially after last session’s Democratic caucus violated a quorum by fleeing to Washington to stall a controversial election bill prioritized by Republican Party. . Ultimately, the law was passed.
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“We need to understand that we are content with enough wins to get re-elected. We can no longer afford to operate this way,” Rep. Brian Slaton, R-Royse City, said as he nominated Tinderholt for Speaker.
“It’s time for Republicans to take the lead to actually implement the conservative policies that the people are demanding… I’m grateful that Rep. Tinderholt gave us the chance to change the way this House works.”
Rep. Nate Schatzline, a Republican freshman from Tarrant County, supported Tinderholt’s candidacy, saying that while he respects Phelan’s conservative values, he trusts Tinderholt as someone who “votes for his conscience” and represents “biblical Christian values.”
Before the vote, Tinderholt addressed the House directly.
“Ask yourself, ‘What do Texans need and deserve?’ he said. “I realized that they need me to fight to change this broken system to give major politicians a chance to get through.
But support for Tinderholt among Republicans in the House of Representatives proved weak as members of both parties rose to support Phelan’s re-election bid.
“The best way for us to keep our House from going down the dark and broken path of Washington, DC is to elect a leader who recognizes that this House and its future are much better served when we promote members based on their knowledge, experience. and skills rather than basing every decision on party acronyms following someone’s name. That leader is Dade Phelan,” said Rep. Cody Harris, Republican Palestine.
Representatives Angie Button, R-Richardson; John Luhan, R-San Antonio; and Shelby Slawson, R-Stephenville, along with Democratic Representatives Tracey King of Uvalde and Tony Rose of Dallas supported Phelan’s nomination.
Phelan won with the support of 145 participants. The three votes for Tinderholt were given to himself, as well as to Slayton and Schatzline. Two members were not present.
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Phelan nodded at the controversy surrounding the appointment of Democratic committee chairs in his House victory speech.
“For the newcomers here, our 2023 freshman, congratulations. A word of caution – please do not confuse this body with the one in Washington, DC,” Phelan said. “After watching Congress try to get started last week, I can’t understand why some would want Texas to be like DC.”
Phelan went on to congratulate the new and returning members of the lower house, and then touched on the many priorities that the House of Representatives intends to address in the next 139 days, the first of which is the exemption from property tax, in particular, addressing the problem of “out of control evaluation.”
He stressed his commitment to improving health care and extending coverage for new mothers to a full year after childbirth, a policy that received bipartisan support in the previous session but was cut by the Senate to six months.
Phelan also touched on issues of public safety and the containment of “rogue DAs” and investment in the state’s infrastructure, including water, flood resilience, reliable power, and the expansion of high-speed internet.
“With a once-in-a-lifetime budget surplus, now is the time to make a down payment on the future of Texas,” Phelan said.
Border security and school security were also high on Phelan’s list of priorities.
“The security threats (to children) are all too real: child trafficking, school violence, bad actors trying to take advantage of their innocence, and social media companies that profit from children’s insecurity, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, sexualization and indoctrination. Members, we must stand up for the children of Texas,” Phelan said.
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Abbott: “Never have I been more excited about the start of a session than this year.‘
After the swearing-in ceremony, Abbott spoke in both houses and expressed his belief that lawmakers are ready to tackle key issues, including how to distribute the state’s $32.7 billion budget surplus.
“I’ve never been as excited about a session as I was about this session,” Abbott said. “We are blessed with the opportunity, once in a generation, to put our nation on the path of undeniable excellence for future generations.”
Abbott said lawmakers in both chambers have already formed a “combination” to address important issues.
Abbott, accompanied by his wife Cecilia, said he was sleep deprived after returning home early from a college football game in Los Angeles. He was there to cheer for Texas Christian University, whose Cinderella season ended with a loss to Georgia.
Abbott will set out his legislative priorities in the coming weeks and will almost certainly try to fulfill his campaign promise of tax breaks for property owners. In this regard, he agrees with Patrick, who says he wants to do the same. But the two contrast with spending money on the state’s power grid, which Abbott says is in good condition and needs to be repaired, according to Patrick.
The session opened a day after Glenn Hegar, the State Comptroller, announced a $32.7 billion budget surplus and urged lawmakers to make smart choices as any new programs must be paid for in subsequent years when the money runs out.
Attributing the surplus to hard-working Texans and prudent leadership by legislators, Abbott fired at California, which has a $24 billion budget, and New York, which, unlike Texas, has a declining population.
Abbott, returning from El Paso, where he met with President Joe Biden last week about border security, is entering his fifth legislative session as governor.
The Senate is quickly sworn in
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, 31 members of the Texas Senate were sworn in in a ceremony that lasted only a few minutes.
As every Senate district in Texas votes for a seat in the 2022 election cycle, the House is now 18 Republicans and 13 Democrats, with Patrick firmly at the helm.
The challenge now remains for members of the upper house to manage amid the ongoing crisis on the US-Mexico border, Democrat anger over the state’s abortion ban, and calls from Abbott and Patrick to bail out taxpayers from the state’s historic surplus. .
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While most members who were sworn in Tuesday returned to the Senate, five state senators took the floor for the first time: Kevin Sparks, R-Midland; Morgan LaMantia, D-Brownsville; Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound; Phil King, R-Weatherford; and Mace Middleton, R-Galveston.
In addition, Senator Pete Flores, a Pleasanton Republican, is returning to the Senate after he missed the final session after losing the 2021 election.
Proposing nothing of legislative content, the Senate spent most of the day appointing Senator Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, as president pro tempore of the House, a largely ceremonial position reserved for the most experienced member who has not yet held office. This is Hancock’s sixth session.
“Each member here is special in their own way,” Hancock said after being sworn into office, who serves in the absence of the lieutenant governor and is second in line for governor. “This is a very, very unique place and I love its history and the future we have for it.”
Hancock’s nomination speeches were delivered by several veterans, including Senator John Whitmire, Democrat of Houston and longest-serving member of the House, Republican Senator Charles Perry of Lubbock and Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.
“No one has ever accused him of being a hat and not a redneck,” Zaffirini said when nominating Hancock.
looking ahead
On Thursday, the House of Representatives and the Senate will meet in joint session to formally sum up the results of the November elections for governor and lieutenant governor. Then, on January 17, Abbott and Patrick will be inaugurated for their third term in office.
