Texas House Speaker Joe Straus has made the following appointments to the Texas Legislative Council and the Select Interim Committee to Study Ethics Laws:
Legislative Council: Reps. Dwayne Bohac of Houston, Travis Clardy of Nacogdoches, Helen Giddings of Dallas, Larry Phillips of Sherman and Senfronia Thompson of Houston. As Chairman of the House Committee on Administration, Representative Charlie Geren of Fort Worth will continue in his ex-officio role on the Council.
The Council provides a range of services to the Legislature and related agencies, such as bill-drafting, research, publishing, document distribution and technological assistance. The Council consists of the Speaker, the Lieutenant Governor, six Members of the House and six Members of the Texas Senate.
Select Interim Committee to Study Ethics Laws: Reps. Sarah Davis of Houston (co-chair), Ken King of Canadian and Poncho Nevárez of Eagle Pass to the committee, as well as Austin attorney Ross Fischer.
The committee was created last year by the passage of Senate Bill 1773. Its purpose is to review laws and regulations related to ethics, such as those focused on campaign finance, lobbying and personal finance disclosures. The other four members of the committee, including the other co-chair, are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.