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Good morning,

With the new legislature's official swearing-in yesterday, we have also updated the Texas Scorecard Directory of Elected Officials.

This is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Democrat Coalition Propels Dustin Burrows to Speaker of the Texas House

• Just hours after the new legislative session kicked off in Austin, State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) was elected to serve as speaker of the House, with the majority of his support coming from Democrats to clinch the position. Brandon Waltens has the details.
         
• The election required two rounds of voting. In the first round, Burrows received 71 votes, State Rep. David Cook (R-Mansfield) garnered 56, and Democrat Ana-Maria Ramos of Houston received 23. The second round saw Burrows emerge victorious with 85 votes, while Cook secured 55.
       
• In the 150-seat chamber, 36 Republicans and 49 Democrats supported Burrows. Cook, on the other hand, received 52 Republican votes and three from Democrats. (Nine members, all Democrats, were recorded as present but not voting.)
            
• The Republican Party of Texas has stated it will seek to censure and potentially remove from the primary ballot any Republican lawmaker who did not support the Republican candidate for speaker.
       
• "Speaker Burrows was handed the speakership by Democrats, as has happened behind closed doors session after session since 2009," said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate. "Each of these bills will be passed again by the Texas Senate. The voters will hold our new speaker accountable to keep his promise of being the most conservative speaker in Texas history."
       
• "Today, the RINO (anti-MAGA) Establishment laughed in the faces of our Republican grassroots. They chose Democrat chairs and Lobbyist buddies over their voters. I look forward to seeing if they’re still laughing after the next round of primaries. The fight starts today." – State Rep. Shelley Luther (R-Sherman)

Speaker... Who?

• Many observers in and outside the Texas House have noted the outsized role disgraced former Speaker Dennis Bonnen has played in maneuvering Dustin Burrows into the speakership.

Brandon Creighton Named President Pro Tempore of Texas Senate

• Republican State Sen. Brandon Creighton of Conroe was unanimously elected to serve as president pro tempore of the Texas Senate on Tuesday. As Luca Cacciatore reports, Creighton took the oath of office on the Bible used by his "grandmother's grandfather" who had been a member of the chamber.
      
• That ancestor represented the same district Creighton does today, but more than 120 years ago. Another Creighton ancestor, Martin Parmer, was a signatory of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
     
• While largely an honorary position, the president pro tempore assumes the role of lieutenant governor “in any case of absence or temporary disability.”
      
• "Now is our chance to offer Texas solutions that address many issues: the dangers and chaos on our southern border, to offer education reforms that prioritize our young students and our workforce, and to offer policies that preserve Texas energy independence to reflect the understanding of how it ties directly to unlimited job creation." – Brandon Creighton

Comptroller Announces $24 Billion Surplus

• Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar has released his office’s 2026-2027 Biennial Revenue Estimate this week, telling lawmakers there will be close to $24 billion of surplus money. The comptroller's estimate serves as a starting point for the state budget and limits the legislature’s general-purpose spending.
        

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick quickly issued a statement saying he would be focused on cutting property taxes and increasing teacher salaries, as well as some one-time expenditures.
       

• Economist Vance Ginn echoed that sentiment, noting that the constitutionally mandated rainy day fund will exceed its cap. All of which, Ginn said, should translate into lawmakers cutting taxes and getting the money back to Texans.

With Job on the Line, Texas A&M President Backtracks on DEI Conference

• After Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to fire Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh over the university’s involvement in a conference enforcing racial exclusions, Welsh announced that Texas A&M had withdrawn its participation. Valerie Muñoz has the report.
      

• The PhD Project Conference in Chicago ostensibly promotes "diversity" in higher education yet explicitly excludes white and Asian students from attending. The conference's focus on the leftwing "diversity, equity, inclusion" ideology would seem to be at odds with state law.
      

• On Monday, journalist Christopher Rufo revealed that TAMU was organizing travel to the conference. Gov. Greg Abbott responded to the controversy on social media: “Hell no. It’s against Texas law and violates the U.S. Constitution. It will be fixed immediately, or the president will soon be gone.”
           

• Within hours, Welsh announced that the university had terminated its participation in the DEI conference. In a statement to faculty and staff, Welsh wrote: “While the proper process for reviewing and approving attendance at such events was followed, I don’t believe we fully considered the spirit of our state law in making the initial decision to participate.”
        

• Welsh has a long history of supporting DEI initiatives, including DEI recruitment practices at the Air Force Academy and during his tenure as Dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M.

Dallas Administrator Claims ‘Loopholes’ Let Boys Play in Girls’ Sports

• Will Biagini reports that an administrator in the Dallas Independent School District has been exposed for coaching parents on how they can allow boys to play in girls’ sports by circumventing current state laws.
       
• Mahoganie Gaston works as the support services LGBTQ youth coordinator at Dallas ISD. A journalist from Accuracy in Media posed as a parent for an undercover video in which she asked Gaston how her transgender “daughter,” who was born as a male, could play in the girls’ sports leagues.
       
• Gaston assured the journalist that the school would take the side of the “transgender” student—even if a smaller female student got injured on the field.
       
• The administrator said she has no fear of incarceration because “How would that look on the news?” She then posed a hypothetical news headline: “‘LGBTQ advocate arrested for protecting a child.’ Do you think I’d have any trouble getting bailed out?”

School District Plans New Offerings on Bible, Arts, Careers

• Trustees in the Carroll Independent School District are considering several new courses to offer during the 2025-2026 school year, including instruction on the Bible and its impact on Western civilization. Emily Medeiros notes other courses under consideration would focus on career preparation.
      
• The Biblical Foundations course would be an English elective course for students in grades 11 and 12. It would offer an “in-depth exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the New Testament, examining their profound impact on the history, literature, art, music, and cultural development of Western civilization.”
       
• The career preparation courses would help students develop “essential knowledge and skills through classroom technical instruction and on-the-job training in an approved business and industry training area.” 
       
• Trustees were told adding the courses would not impact the district's budget.

Quote-Unquote

"Despots and democratic majorities are drunk with power." – Ludwig von Mises​

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