Texas’ 88th Legislature kicks off; Republican Dade Phelan reelected as House speaker
The Texas Newsroom | By Sergio Martínez-Beltrán
Published January 10, 2023 at 2:53 PM CST
https://www.kut.org/politics/2023-01-10/...s-house-speaker


The 88th Texas Legislature kicked off Tuesday afternoon, with members of the House and Senate sworn into office, along with the election of the chambers’ speakers.

In the House, Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, was re-elected speaker by a vote of 143-3.

In his speech, Phelan called for the lawmakers to work together to pass meaningful legislation for Texans.

“We will have divisions. Every session does. But that division does not have to define us,” Phelan told lawmakers after being sworn in as speaker. “We do our work here, together, and when we do that we just might be surprised to find out how much we have in common.”

Phelan also vowed to prevent Texas politics to resemble the constant gridlock in Congress.

Addressing the freshman class, Phelan asked them to "not confuse this body with the one in Washington, D.C."

"After watching Congress attempt to function last week, I cannot imagine why some want Texas to be like D.C.,” he said, referencing the marathonic election for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In his speech, Phelan vowed to lead the House in passing laws granting property tax relief for Texas homeowners. He also vowed to “rein” in district attorneys who do not “uphold the law.”

But Phelan’s election gave a glimpse of fractures within the Republican Party in Texas.

Some GOP representatives and constituents have criticized Phelan for continuing the practice of appointing Democrats as chairs of some House committees.

Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, unsuccessfully challenged Phelan. He said a change was needed and that “doing this right pales in comparison to the cost of this House repeating lost opportunities."-- excerpt, rest at link above --

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/10/texas-house-speaker-dade-phelan/

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Texas House of Representatives members on Tuesday voted 145-3 to elect state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, to a second term as speaker — the most powerful position in the lower chamber.

He defeated state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, who was nominated by ultraconservative members who say Phelan is unreasonably accommodating of Democrats in the chamber. Tinderholt cast a ballot for himself, as did two Republican members who nominated him, Nate Schatzline of Tarrant County and Bryan Slaton of Royce City.

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So there are the 3 members that did not vote for Phelan...

Quote: Tinker wrote in post #5

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Republican members of the Texas House yet again betray their base!

https://texasscorecard.com/state/texas-h...mmittee-chairs/

https://texasscorecard.com/state/breakin...xas-gop-voters/

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Thread Reader

Matt Rinaldi Profile pictureMatt Rinaldi
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1613262577261223941.html
18h • 3 tweets • 1 min read

The Republican Speaker is taking the procedural position that restricting chairs to the majority party as every other state and congress does is using state resources for “political purposes” and is illegal. This baseless & absurd ruling was made solely to protect Democrat power.
If you are Republican and you were not speaking loudly against this then why are you even in office?
BTW, we still have a 2021 record vote on Democrat chairs. All the Speaker did was hang out to dry his supporters who wanted to change their vote before the next primary, & freshmen are now on record supporting a speaker who supports sharing leadership with Democrats.

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More from @MattRinaldiTX
Matt Rinaldi Profile pictureMatt Rinaldi@MattRinaldiTX
Nov 17, 2022
Imagine if Kevin McCarthy took over as Speaker and appointed Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and AOC to Congressional leadership positions. Republicans would be shocked and outraged. But that's what happens in Texas, and most people can't believe it. (1/9)

Texas Republicans appointed Democrats to about 40% of House leadership positions last session. Dems then use those positions to slander Republicans as racists & "threats to democracy", kill GOP legislation & raise $ to oppose Republicans in elections. (2/9)

Here is one Democrat accusing @GovAbbott of promoting racially driven violence against Latinos because the Gov opposed taxpayer benefits to illegals. He was later appointed by Rs to be Speaker Pro Tempore, the 2nd ranking House leadership position. (3/9)

Matt Rinaldi Profile pictureMatt Rinaldi@MattRinaldiTX
Nov 9, 2022
Election takeaways: 1. Florida had a wave election. Texas had a very good night. Results elsewhere were mixed. Ron DeSantis and his optimistic brand of bold and unapologetic conservatism is a winning brand and the GOP should take note. (1/8)

2. Texas became more red last night. In 2018, Cruz won by 2%, Patrick won by 5%, Paxton by 3%. Last night, the GOP continued its 28 year streak of winning every statewide office, did so by double digits in every race, & grew its majorities in the State House and Senate. (2/8)

3. Though we outperformed our internal polls statewide, a much smaller red shift than we hoped in the suburbs and valley resulted in narrow losses in the Harris County Judge & Dallas COA races. Losing @MayraFlores2022 was very disappointing. (3/8)

Matt Rinaldi Profile pictureMatt Rinaldi@MattRinaldiTX
Feb 25, 2021

(1/—) HB3 is a colossal disaster that must be defeated. It greatly expand both the power of the governor and the restrictions to which Texans will be subject immediately after passage. #txlege

(2/4) The governor, as Justice Devine noted, has very narrow power to issue executive orders. HB2 expands that power to be virtually unlimited, ie any order that “furthers the purpose of the law” to promote public safety. #txlege Image

(3/4) Don’t like Anthony Fauci? HB2 makes him King of Texas by allowing businesses to be sued for noncompliance with federal rules or “declarations”. #txlege Image


HT @Tinker

Thanks, Tinker. I look forward to hearing what they're up to.

Quote: Tinker wrote in post #8

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Majority Of House Republicans Let Democrats Be Committee Chairs

• Despite intense grassroots pressure, the Texas House refused to allow a vote on blocking Democrats from chairing legislative committees in the Republican-controlled chamber. Sydnie Henry has the details.

• A Republican priority for 2023, banning Democrats from holding key committee chairmanships—which allows them to block conservative legislation—is supported by more than 81 percent of Republican voters. State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) introduced an amendment accomplishing that effort.

• House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) blocked Slaton's amendment, decreeing that House rules “may only be used for public purposes and not political purposes.” Phelan said that because the measure was the priority of a political party, adopting it would violate the Texas Constitution.

State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) and Slaton could only get their colleagues Mark Dorazio (R-San Antonio), Nate Schatzline (R-Keller), Richard Hayes (R-Denton), and Brian Harrison (R-Waxahachie) to try to override the ruling – they needed 10 members to press the issue.

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