Texas Legislators Will Soon Pick the Next Speaker of the House!

There is a very important vote coming up for the Texas Speaker of the House next Tuesday, January 14th in the Legislative Session! Did you know that the current Texas Speaker of the House, Dade Phelan, has withdrawn from this “race” and will not be returning as the Speaker?

The Texas Values policy team is excited to share an update on the Texas Speaker of the House race! Recently, at a scheduled meeting of the Texas House Republican Caucus, Republican Representative David Cook won the Republican Caucus vote. However, Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows is “claiming” he has the votes to win the race too. With both candidates claiming victory, understanding the issue at hand can be confusing which is why Texas Values is here to make sure you stay informed about the process!

Rep. David Cook has strong support of the grassroots and won the Republican Caucus vote. But certain Republicans who don’t want Cook to be the next speaker are taking the side of Rep. Burrows despite his failure to follow the RPT platform. Since Burrows does not have a majority among Republicans, he has taken his support outside the party and has recruited 38 Democrats to support him in his race for Speaker. The official vote will take place next week, on the first day of the 89th legislative session, January 14th. At Texas Values, we agree that House Republicans should follow their own rules and support Rep. David Cook for Texas Speaker of the House.

Read the Important Texas Speaker of the House Race Update here!

It's finally here! On Tuesday, January 14th the Texas Legislature will kick off with one hundred and eighty-one Texas lawmakers being sworn in to serve in the 89th Legislature and Governor Abbott will deliver remarks to both chambers.
In the House, members will vote on a Speaker of the House from among the candidates running, including David Cook, the candidate nominated by the House GOP Caucus. The Senate will select their new President Pro Tempore.

That one day of pomp and circumstance will quickly give way to the daily grind of legislative work. This work is where Texas Values shines. Our team of policy and legal experts are at the Capitol all 140 days of session, working to ensure pro-family, religious freedom, and pro-life issues are front and center in legislators' minds. Our team will be on site at the Texas Capitol all day on the first day of the session, Tuesday, January 14th. Come to the Capitol on this important day. Our office is across the street from the Texas Capitol – at 1005 Congress, Suite 830, Austin, Texas 78701.

Check out some (but yes, there's more!) of the crucial issues we'll be working on during the 89th Legislature: 

Religious freedom remains a top priority for the 89th Legislature. Texas lacks adequate legal protections for both physicians and health care facilities to decline in procedures that violate their conscience, religious purpose, or mission. In addition, better protections for physician abortion refusal in public hospitals, as well as stronger civil and criminal immunity statutes are critical.

It's hard to believe we need a law to protect the privacy of sex-separated spaces such as locker rooms and restrooms. However, that's exactly the kind of strong, common-sense legislation that is needed to make it clear to the LGBT lobby and radical left that women and girls cannot be preyed upon by men posing as women in their restrooms. We will be working to send a strong bill to Governor Abbott's desk as soon as possible this session.

It is time for a fundamental change in Texas education. The status quo is not working and more and more parents are in favor of the money following the student so that families can take an individualized approach to their children’s education. Our team will be especially focused on safeguarding religious freedom and stopping the inclusion of radical gender ideology language in any school choice proposal that moves this legislative session.

Your support plays a crucial role in allowing Texas Values to maintain a presence at the capitol during the Legislative Session. It further allows us to highlight the necessity of engaging with lawmakers and advocating for important issues such as those mentioned above. Additionally, it offers assistance in crafting messages or rallying support. This requires ongoing effort and resources. 

Today, a federal district court in Kentucky issued a decision in the anticipated State of Tennessee v Cardona case that blocks Biden’s re-write of Title IX in all 50 states. As you recall, currently 26 states enjoined Biden’s Title IX – that redefines “sex” to include gender identity – this summer before the start of the fall semester. Texas had two notable court rulings to stop the Title IX rewrite from being imposed on Carroll ISD and a statewide injunction as well.

Mary Elizabeth Castle, Texas Values Director of Government Relations, had this to say:

“After the continuous defeat and the recent waving of the white flag of surrender, the Biden administration’s war on women is finally over."

Read more about it on our blog post here.

Texas Values is joining our national allies Family Policy Alliance and AG Ken Paxton outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on January 15th. SCOTUS will be hearing the Texas case, The Online Age Verification Bill HB 1181, protecting children from pornographic content online, authored by Faith & Family Champion Texas State Representative Matt Shaheen. Texas Values was featured in the Amicus Brief that was filed.

A Texas Law requiring age verification is already making an impact. Read the American Family News article quoting Jonathan Covey, Director of Policy at Texas Values, regarding the effect this law has had on the world's most popular porn site.

"The mood I see from folks is ‘Hey, it’s a new day!’ We don’t have to spend so much time now worrying what the federal government is going to do to us next."

"We can always count on them (Texas Values Policy Team) being here supporting individual rights, parental rights and protecting our religious principles. Thank you (Texas Values) for your efforts, all of what you do, we appreciate it. We can’t do it without you, keep it up." ~ Senator Bob Hall

His segment is available to view on our YouTube Channel and on our Facebook page. 

Catch the weekly Texas Values Report at any time, day or night, and on additional podcast sites: Facebook, Apple, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, Spotify, TuneIn, YouTube, The Bridge Austin.

As is our custom each year, we've created a list with some of the biggest headlines around the state and nation that happened in, or directly impacted, Texas. Texas Values and YOU made a difference!

Read the Top Stories of 2024 (TX)!

Looking for a speaker? Our speakers are happy to come to your church, civic group, or political organization to update you on new bills / laws passed and policy updates for Texas! Let us know how one of our speakers can make your next event a memorable and informative one by contacting us here.

Texas Values is seeking motivated university, graduate, and law school students to intern in our Austin office (or remotely with special approval) who have a passion to promote biblical values and have the desire to learn more about law, public policy, and the political process in Texas.

Learn more about the position and what happens during a Texas Values internship from two of our 2023 summer interns: Greg McCarthy, who recently became a Texas licensed attorney, and Megan Benton, who is now working full time as Strategic Policy Associate for Texas Values! 

Texas Values is a 501(c)(3) a non-profit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas. More information is available at txvalues.org

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