On January 21, the Texas Senate's two-thirds rule was changed now requiring a vote of three-fifths, 19 of the 31 Senate members to bring a bill to the floor. The Senate traditionally required a blocker bill (a bill not intended to be worthy of serious consideration or passage) to be placed on the daily calendar so that two-thirds of the members would have to agree to suspend the rule so that other bills can be taken out of order and considered. Today's vote now requires 19 instead of 21 Senators to bring up a bill for further debate.
The passage of SR 39, the rules of Senate, also implemented other changes which include restrictions on individuals admitted to the Senate floor, limiting the numbers of times a member can be recognized for a resolution to a maximum of 10 times with certain exceptions, and various committees changes listed below.
Committee changes:
- The Agriculture and Rural Affairs standing committee will now be called “Committee on Agriculture, Water, and Rural Affairs” and the committee was increased from 5 to 7 members.
- The Natural Resources Committee will now be the “Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development.” There is no longer a standing committee on "Economic Development" only.
- The Committee on Education was increased from 9 to 11 members.
- The Committee on Intergovernmental Relations was increased from 5 to 7 members.
- The following committees were abolished: Government Organization, Open Government, and Jurisprudence.
- Additionally, there was a subcommittee on Border Security consisting of 3 members also created which will be comprised of members from Veteran’s Affairs and Military Installations which will also increase from 5 to 7 members.
It has been noted by several sources the adoption of these new rules will certainly change the dynamics of political negotiations for the 84th Session.