Texas in the News Weekly Quiz February 15, 2021

New Committees

Committees are the workhorse of the legislative process. The chair and members of these committees research, investigate, mark up, and pass legislation for the whole chamber to consider. In the Texas House of Representatives, these committees are assigned by both seniority (how long you’ve been a member in the chamber) and your stated preferences.

Serving on the right committee can be a way to foster stronger relationships, shape legislation, and gain more power in the chamber. House members want to be on committees that relate to what their districts care about. A member from the Dallas urban core might want to be on transportation committee, while a member from Plainview might want to be the agriculture committee. The Speaker, in making these assignments, wants to keep his allies happy and put influential members on committees where legislation the Speaker and his Party cares about will get passed.

New Speaker of the House Dade Phelan recently released his list of new committee assignments which shook up the chamber. New committee chairs in several key positions signal new top lieutenants for the Speaker in the legislative process. The Speaker, like many before him, pursued a bipartisan strategy, appointing thirteen Democrats to committees.

Read over the following articles to get a sense of why these committees are as important as who serves on them:

• Speaker Dade Phelan shakes up Texas House leadership with new chairs on key committees
• Republican who helped Trump campaign challenge Joe Biden's win will lead election work in Texas House
• Winners and losers: Texas House Speaker shakes up chamber’s leadership with emphasis on new faces