Published Nov 09, 2020 by Steven Will
Now that the 2020 elections are behind us, the makeup of the Texas Legislature is coming into focus.
Despite some predictions of a possible Democrat majority in the Texas House, Republicans maintained their majority with the same 83-67 member split as the 86th Legislative Session in 2019. What will change is a new House Speaker and new House leadership. All signs indicate Representative Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) has secured the commitments from enough of his House colleagues to secure the Speakership. The Partnership was fortunate to work closely with Representative Phelan last session.
Representative Phelan was the House author of what became Senate Bill 7, and he was the lead champion for the creation of the Flood Infrastructure Fund. The Flood Infrastructure Fund will have lasting impact on Texas and our region by allowing the state to fund flood mitigation projects to protect our communities against future severe weather events.
On the other side of the Capitol, the makeup of the Texas Senate changed by one seat. The Democrats retook a seat in South Texas resulting in an 18-13 partisan split.
This session, the ongoing response to COVID-19, passing a budget and the decennial legislative redistricting process will draw the most focus from the Legislature. The Partnership will focus on protecting public education funding, closing the digital divide, and energy.
To learn more about the Partnership’s priorities, please click here.
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