Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Monday, February 21, 2022.

– Brandon Waltens 

• Despite Republicans holding majorities in the Texas House and Senate, as well as every statewide office, liberal Democrats are still being placed in leadership positions in the Texas Legislature.
   
• How does this happen? Let’s look at the most recent legislative session as a guide.

• In November of 2020 now-Speaker Dade Phelan courted Democrat lawmakers in his quest to wield the gavel. Having served since 2015, Phelan’s record was no secret. In fact, he was one of only three Texas House Republicans to receive a positive grade from Equality Texas, a pro-LGBT advocacy organization that has heavily opposed legislation to protect children from gender modification procedures.
   

• But despite knowing these facts, the House Republican Caucus voted to give him their seal of approval.
   

• On January 11, the day before the regular 87th Legislative Session was slated to begin, Phelan went on record saying he would appoint Democrats to chair committees, a practice not even done in Washington, D.C. Instead, Phelan called the House’s “bipartisan” model one that “worked pretty darn well,” adding that it was not always about “Republican versus Democrat” or “left versus right.”
   

• Despite this assertion, Phelan was overwhelmingly elected speaker of the House on January 12, with only two freshman voting against him.

• The next day, when the House had the opportunity to pass the rules that governed how they would operate for the session, State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City) offered an amendment to bar Democrats from chairing committees in the Texas House.
   

• The opposition brought up State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R–Deer Park), who read a prepared statement opposing Slaton’s amendment, arguing that the “Texas House should not operate like Washington D.C.”
   

•  When the votes were tallied, only Republican State Reps. Kyle Biedermann (Fredericksburg), Jeff Cason (Bedford), Phil Stephenson (Rosenberg), and Tony Tinderholt (Arlington), and Mayes Middleton (Wallisville) joined Slaton in supporting his effort.
   

• The rest of Republicans voted to put Democrats in charge…

• Keeping good on his promise, Phelan put Democrats in charge of committees such as Business and Industry, Transportion, and even Public Education.
   

• Meanwhile, in the Senate, a Democrat was put in charge of the Committee on Criminal Justice. 
   

• The issue gained new attention last summer when House Democrats fled for Washington D.C. to break quorum and freeze consideration of conservative priority legislation. At the time, several House Republicans beat their chests about the “consequences” Democrats would face when they returned.
   

• But when they finally did return, there were no consequences. Democrats continue to remain in powerful leadership positions. 

• Despite lawmakers’ failure to act on the issue, momentum is growing for an end to the practice.
   
• Republican Party of Texas Chairman  Matt RInaldi has been outspoken about ending the practice of handing leadership positions to Democrats, saying he has “never seen an issue that so firmly unites Republicans across the political spectrum as this one does.”
   
• Republican primary voters will also be asked if they support ending the practice on a referendum question on the statewide primary ballot.
   
• Early voting continues through February 25. Election Day is March 1.

Note: There is no early voting today due to Presidents Day. Voting will resume tomorrow.

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.