Texas Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced Wednesday Texas House committee assignments for the 86th Legislature.
In a statement released Wednesday, Bonnen said he held a number of meetings with House members to discuss committee preferences before assigning legislators.
“As Speaker, my goal is to preside over the Texas House in a way that allows Members to drive its priorities – and a member-driven House calls for member-driven committee assignments," said Bonnen. "After thoughtful consideration, these committee assignments have been made to reflect the seniority and personal preferences of Members and the diverse demographics of the Texas House.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has highlighted school finance and property tax reform chief among his legislative priorities for this session. Bonnen tapped Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie) to chair the Higher Education Committee and Dan Huberty (R-Houston) will once again chair the Public Education Committee.
The current makeup of the Texas House is 82 Republicans and 64 Democrats (with 3 vacant seats).
Of the committee chairs, including Speaker Pro Tempore, 22 are Republicans and 13 are Democrats.
Of the 34 standing committees:
- 19 chairs and 22 vice chairs are women, black, Hispanic or Asian;
- 15 chairs represent rural areas of the state, while 20 chairs represent urban areas; and
- 15 chairs will be serving in that committee leadership role for the first time.
“I believe these committee assignments will allow every member to represent his or her district and bring the member's individual strengths to the table, while also providing more opportunities for individual members to participate in policy-making decisions that affect all Texans."
- To view a full list of House Committee assignments by member, click here.
- To view a full list of House Committee assignments by committee, click here.
