Texas House Committee Members Assigned
 Updated on Wednesday, Mar 15, 2023

The work of the Texas House, that meets once every two years for 90 days can begin now that committee assignments were made Wednesday, February 8.

FACTS: There are 150 members of the Texas House. There are currently over 2,400 bills filed in the House and over 1,000 bills filed in the Texas Senate as of today. There will most likely be close to 7,000 bills filed before the session is over. There are 36 House committees that will vet these bills before coming to the House floor for a vote. In the Texas Senate, where there are 31 members, there are 17 committees with one sub-committee that vet filed bills prior to being scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor by the Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick.

If you do the math that is a lot to look at! Bills have been filed as early as last November in the House, so Senate and House members have had time for their staff to become familiar with many of the bills, and all of us can look through the bills and their progress at any time at capitol.texas.gov. Some Texas organizations articulate that the chairs of the committees can make or break a bill, and in this statement they are correct. But the agenda behind some of those organizations provides information slanted to fit a narrative. For instance, of the 36 Texas House committees, only 2 actually have more Democrats on the committees than Republicans, the Business & Industry and Corrections committees. All of the others have a majority of Republicans on the committee, including 10 major House committees with significant power that have significant majorities:

Appropriations: 16 Republicans, 11 Democrats
Calendars: 7 Republicans, 4 Democrats
County Affairs: 6 Republicans, 3 Democrats
Elections: 6 Republicans, 3 Democrats
Land & Resource Management: 7 Republicans, 2 Democrats
Local & Consent Calendars: 7 Republicans, 4 Democrats
Public Education: 8 Republicans, 5 Democrats
Redistricting: 9 Republicans, 6 Democrats
State Affairs: 8 Republicans, 5 Democrats
Ways & Means: 7 Republicans, 4 Democrats

All other committees other than the committees above and the 2 Democrat-led committees have a single Republican majority in their membership. While some may want to implement a “scorched earth” policy in the House regarding the committee membership, I believe that having debate and dialog among those who disagree is healthy and right in a civil society that values the liberty of free speech. The organizations email did not go into the reasons for the committee assignments where Democrats are leading the committees, and left off entirely any discussion regarding the rules regarding Seniority that are embedded in the ways committee memberships are assigned which tend to elevate diplomacy and statesmanship over partisan back room deals, which is exactly what we should desire for our state Legislature.

It is true that Democrats chair 9 of the 36 committees, but what was not mentioned by the organizations daily email is that 7 of those have majority Republican members. What is unfathomable is why this organization is using the same tactics as the leftist media, obfuscation and missing information that paints an entirely different picture to mislead its readers to the true intents of our state leaders, creating a false narrative that builds walls rather than bridges that are a benefit to all of us here in Texas. Here are the Democrat chaired committees:

Business & Industry: 4 Republicans, 5 Democrats
Corrections: 4 Republicans, 5 Democrats
County Affairs: 6 Republicans, 3 Democrats
Criminal Jurisprudence: 5 Republicans, 4 Democrats
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues: 5 Republicans, 4 Democrats
Natural Resources: 6 Republicans, 5 Democrats
Resolution Calendars: 6 Republicans, 5 Democrats
Transportation: 7 Republicans, 6 Democrats
Youth Health & Safety, Select: 5 Republicans, 4 Democrats

What should also be mentioned and understood from a strategy perspective, is that each of the Democrat chaired committees have a Republican Vice-Chair. There is wisdom in the statement that the devils workshop is idle hands. It goes along with the idea that you should keep your friends close, but those who oppose you even closer. Understanding both yourself and those who oppose you is crucial to winning the culture war of ideas, as postulated by various people down through history.

While there was only one “notable” difference cited by the organizations email regarding the chair of the Public Education committee, there are many more that could be mentioned such as the 10 committees with a strong majority of Republican members that will have a huge influence on what happens during the legislative session in regards to the Legislative priorities of many Republican voters. Another is the percentage of Republican committee membership equals the percentage of Republicans in the House Legislature: 57%. In other words there are 214 Republican committee member assignments versus 162 Democrat committee member assignments. There are 86 Republicans in the Texas House versus 64 Democrats. That is what the Texas House should be: a reflection of the will of the people of Texas. Texans are admittedly diverse, unlike other states where political totalitarianism by the Democrats is enforced in their Legislatures, leading to bad outcomes and the loss of civil society. But conservative ideas do prevail here as hearts and minds recognize the wisdom in those ideals we conservatives espouse.

I'm hopeful for what can happen in the Texas Legislature this session for all Texans, especially where dialog, discussion and moral clarity exist to win the day for what is right and true.