Table of Contents
Welcome to another edition of Texas Legislative News for the 88th Texas Legislature. In this weekly feature, we’ll provide information on disability-related issues that are being considered at the Texas State Capitol. We’ll also include overviews of how business is conducted by lawmakers and details on upcoming TCDD events.
Leadership Elections in House Caucuses
A legislative caucus is a private meeting of lawmakers who share the same political goals. During a legislative caucus, members elect or appoint officers to leadership positions and support policy development and interests that members of the caucus have in common. With the convening of the legislature quickly approaching on Jan. 10, a variety of caucuses in the Texas House recently held votes to determine leadership for the session. The House Republican Caucus, made up of all 86 Republican members of the Texas House, held a private vote to choose their preference for speaker in the upcoming session. In a vote of 78-6, the participating members supported current Speaker Dade Phelan over a challenger, Rep. Tony Tinderholt. Tinderholt is widely considered to be one of the most far-right members of the body and has campaigned primarily on a policy of restricting Democrats from serving as committee chairs. For the 87th Texas Legislature, 13 of the House’s 34 standing committees were chaired by Democratic members, and Phelan has indicated that he will maintain a similar proportion if reelected. The caucus vote was nonbinding, and the speaker is selected in a vote by the full body of 150 House members on the first day of session. The strong support of the caucus shows that Phelan is likely to serve a second term. The House Democratic Caucus held its own meeting, where its 64 members selected Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer to lead the minority party’s efforts throughout the session. Martinez Fischer defeated Rep. Gina Hinojosa for the position and replaces Rep. Chris Turner, who has served as caucus chair since 2017 but opted not to run again. Two additional House caucuses, comprised primarily of Democratic members, recently held leadership elections: the Mexican American Legislative Caucus selected Rep. Victoria Neave Criado as its chair, while Rep. Ron Reynolds was chosen to lead the Texas Legislative Black Caucus.Bill Filing Continues
As of Dec. 12, nearly 1,300 bills have been pre-filed for the upcoming session. Recently filed proposals related to disability issues include:- House Bill (HB) 949 by Rep. Harold Dutton, relating to the program requiring dyslexia screening and testing in public schools.
- HB 950 by Rep. Dutton, relating to a student’s eligibility for special education services provided by a school district, including services for dyslexia and related disorders.
