Legislative Services

House Interim Charges Released

Speaker Dustin Burrows on Thursday instructed House committees’ action for the nine months that remain ahead of the Jan. 12 start to the 90th Legislature. Committee chairs will soon set hearings to hear public and invited testimony on the assigned study topics. A summary and the committees’ recommendations will be distributed later to the full House of Representatives and published online.

Burrows’ interim charges direct study across a wide range of perennial and emerging issues for Texas. Many are of importance to county government. A few of note:

• Violent Crime Clearance Rates and Investigative Capacity (page 6).
• Rural Criminal Justice Workforce Development (p. 6).
• Livestock Shows, County Fairs, and Rodeos (p. 8).
• Elections, various (p. 11).
• Oil & Gas, various (p. 13-14).
• Strengthening the Law Enforcement Workforce (p. 19).
• Mental Health Impacts, Homelessness, and System Recidivism (p. 24).
• Strengthening County Law Enforcement (p. 24).
• Water, various (p. 52- 53).
• Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery; Data Centers (p. 41-42).
• Property Tax Relief; Local Government Spending (p. 48).
• Texas-New Mexico Boundary, Safeguarding Taxpayer Funds, Texas Public Information Act (p. 49-50).

The full list.

Burrows also created three new House committees; click the links to see chairs and full membership rosters.

• House Select Committee on General Aviation
• House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight
• House Select Committee on Health Care Affordability

Senate Interim Charges, Too

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s study topics landed hot on the heels of Burrows’ announcement, arriving Friday morning. He had previously released an initial round of charges, and in his statement, leaves open the possibility of a third issuance.

• Managing Data Center Growth (p. 2).
• Regulating the Role of Reserve Officers (p. 4).
• Ensuring Local Hotel Occupancy Tax Accountability (p. 5).
• Examining Crime Victims’ Compensation and Assistance Funds; Data Center Investment and State Fiscal Effects, Rural Fire Protection Funding (p. 7).
• Strengthening Crisi related Mental Health and Homelessness Services (p. 8).
• Cutting Property Taxes; Examining the Effect of Increasing the Homestead Exemption; Holding Local Government Fees Accountable (p. 12).
• Protecting Texas from Wildfires (p. 13).
• Maintaining Election Security (p. 15).
• Assessing the Water Demands of Energy-Intensive Technologies, Evaluating Desalination Viability and Regulatory Framework (p. 19).

The full list.

Patrick Shuffles Committee Assignments

Adjusting to five departed or outgoing senators, Patrick announced changes to several committees and formed three new select committees that he intends to make permanent when the 90th Legislature convenes. The announcement and updated committee assignments.

Primary Elections

There were no surprises at the top of the ticket as Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick walloped a trio of little-known challengers in the state’s March 3 primary elections, earning respective 81.8% and 84.7% shares of the little over 2 million votes cast in the Republican primary. Abbott will face state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) in the Nov. 3 general election; Patrick’s path to a fourth term is not yet set as Democratic voters will choose between state Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) and Houston labor leader Marcos Velez.

Not all statewide elected officials escaped their primary challengers. Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock was bested by another former state senator, Dallas’ Don Huffines, who will meet state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) in November. Likewise, Hancock’s former colleague in the Texas House, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, failed to advance to the general election after honey farmer Nate Sheets earned a 52.7% share of Republican primary votes to Miller’s 47.3%.

The crowded race to replace Attorney General Ken Paxton, who pushed U.S. Sen. John Cornyn to a runoff, resulted in dual runoffs. State Sens. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) will face U.S. Rep. Chip Roy in the Republican primary runoff and Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) and Houston businessman Joe Jaworski are in the Democratic runoff to decide who will make the November ballot.

A full picture of the 90th Legislature is not totally clear, but the primary results gave it sharper focus. House and Senate districts were drawn carefully to favor one party over the other, resulting in very few competitive elections in the general election. So barring a seismic jolt in November, the May 26 runoff results are the biggest unknown for the makeup of the 90th Legislature.

In the House of Representatives, most incumbents ran unopposed, but there were some primary challenges of note.

Lost to primary opponents:

• Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie), House District 101
• Cecil Bell (R-Magnolia), HD 3
• Stan Kitzman (R-Pattison), HD 85

Prevailed by single-digit margins:

• Rep. Ken King bested challenger John Browing by a seven-point margin.
• Rep. Candy Noble held off Jeff Forrester and Freddie America with a 52.7% share.
• Rep. Jared Patterson (R) took 53.6% facing Larry Brock and Rick Abraham.
• Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) took on two challengers; his 50.8% is just enough to avoid a runoff.

Headed to a runoff:

• Rep. Venton Jones (D-Dallas) fell short of the 50% plus one needed to avoid a runoff and will face Amanda Richardson on May 26.

In the Texas Senate, three of the dozen incumbents drew primary opponents. All prevailed by wide margins. Sen. Taylor Rehmet (D-Garland) prevailed in a special election to replace former Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) but must again buck the odds to flip the seat for a full-term when he faces Leigh Wambsganss in a rematch of the January special election that delivered his upset victory.

The Texas Tribune compiled county election results in a primary recap.

As previously reported, 21 representatives and five senators chose not to run for reelection.

House of Representatives

• Alma Allen (D-Houston), HD 131
• Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin), HD 9
• Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), HD 128
• Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake), HD 98
• David Cook (R-Mansfield), HD 96
• Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin), HD 47
• Bobby Guerra (D-Mission), HD 41
• Sam Harless (R-Spring), HD 126
• Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin), HD 49
• Stan Lambert (R-Abilene), HD 71
• Ray Lopez (D-San Antonio), HD 125
• Jon Lujan (D-San Antonio), HD 118
• Dennis Paul (R-Houston), HD 129
• Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), HD 21
• Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston), HD 135
• Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth), HD 93
• John Smithee (R-Amarillo), HD 86
• James Talarico (D-Austin), HD 50
• Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington), HD 94
• Steve Toth (R-Conroe), HD 15
• Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston), HD 1

Senate

• Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), Senate District 4
• Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury), SD 22
• Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills), SD 9
• Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville), SD 3
• Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), SD 11

Legislative Directory Available

TAC’s 2025-26 Legislative Directory remains available for order. The directory includes contact information for lawmakers, committees, county official associations and TAC’s Legislative Services team.

Order free your copies here.

Month in Review is a collaborative column from TAC Legislative Services.