Texas House Dennis Bonnen announced committee assignments on the 16th day of the legislative session. For details: Standing Committee Appointments by Member & Standing Committee Appointments by Committee.
“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 Speaker 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.”
The Speaker announced committee assignments on the 16th day of the legislative session. Over the past several weeks, Speaker Bonnen has held individual meetings with House Members to discuss their committee preferences.
Speaker Bonnen added, “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 policymaking decisions that affect all Texans.”
In an effort to increase opportunities and broaden committee participation among House Members, Speaker Bonnen has:
- Appointed at least 9 House Members to serve on each substantive committee, allowing more Members to be involved in various policymaking areas and creating a broader overlap of Members serving on various committees;
- Increased efficiency by reducing the number of standing House Committees from 38 to 34;
- Elected not to form Select Committees, thereby giving deference to the committee structure approved by the House Membership in the House Rules; and
- Chosen not to appoint chairs of other committees to simultaneously serve on the House Calendars Committee.
Analysis of Committee Assignments:
- The current makeup of the Texas House is 82 Republicans and 64 Democrats (with 3 vacant seats).
- Including the Speaker Pro Tempore (a leadership position equivalent to a chair), 22 Republicans and 13 Democrats received chair positions.
- Of the 34 standing committees:
- 19 chairs and 22 vice chairs are women, African-American, Hispanic or Asian-American;
- 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.