Good afternoon ARAWC Members,
I hope this email finds you well, and that you had a great holiday break.
Yesterday at noon, both the Texas House and Senate gaveled in to begin the 87th regular legislative session. The House then voted to elect Dade Phelan (R) - Beaumont as the new Speaker with a vote of 143-2, with four voting present. The two "no" votes were Jeff Cason and Bryan Slaton - both freshman members of the legislature.
Speaker Phelan said the House will convene again today, and vote for rules on Thursday - presumably these will include rules on the public entering the capitol building, and COVID protocols in general. He added that they will then adjourn until January 26th, which is a large departure from normal beginning of session work.
Roughly 1,300 bills have been filed as of this time, whereas usually about 7,000 bills are filed in total during a normal session. This even slower than usual start can be attributed to a few factors: the COVID-19 pandemic, legislative council being short staffed, and that we do not have committees in the House. Many in the lobby will likely wait to see who is on the committees before approaching for bill filing. We should know the committee assignments towards the end of February, and the bill filing deadline is March 12th.
I will keep you updated throughout the session, including sending regular bill tracking. As with everything else during session these will start slow and pick up momentum as we move forward.
Texas nonsubscription will face challenges and opportunities in 2021 at both the state and federal levels. Your ARAWC government relations team is working hard for you and remains at your service. Stay tuned!
Best regards,
Ryan Brannan
ARAWC Government Relations Consultant
