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By Lauren Fairbanks and J Pete LaneyTAD Governmental Affairs
With the election officially behind us, all eyes are on the upcoming legislative session that begins Jan. 10. Bill filing began Nov. 14 and more than 1,200 bills already have been filed. The Texas Association of Dairymen is carefully monitoring the bills and looking for those of particular interest to the state’s dairy industry.
One such bill, to date, is HB 692 by Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) that was filed Nov. 15. This bill, which addresses milk disposal, was filed in the last session (2021) but failed to pass after it was a victim of back-and-forth politics between the House and Senate in the waning days of session.
Currently, no other measures directly impact the Texas dairy industry, but bill filing runs through March 10. At that time, we’ll have a full understanding of what measures will be considered by the Legislature.
While bill filing is in full swing, other business of the House and Senate has begun ahead of the first gavel. On Dec. 2, the House GOP Caucus met to endorse a candidate for Speaker of the House, which is elected by and from the 150 House members after the start of session. Current Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) faced a challenge from Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington). Tinderholt ran on the promise to break with a longstanding House tradition that has awarded chairmanships to members of both parties, even the party not in the majority. The Texas Republican Party in recent months has pushed for the elimination of Democratic committee chairmen. Phelan has publicly defended the practice. Phelan secured the endorsement from the GOP Caucus overwhelmingly by a 78-6 vote and is anticipated to be elected as Speaker of the House by his colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, on the opening day of the legislative session on Jan. 10.
On the other side of the aisle, the House Democratic Caucus elected its next chair. Rep. Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie), who has led the caucus since 2017, did not seek reelection. Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) prevailed after heading off a challenge from two other colleagues. Martinez Fischer will lead the legislative strategy, messaging and fundraising for House Democrats for the next two years.
Across the rotunda, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick held a press conference to release his list of 21 priorities for next session. His agenda includes property tax relief, improving power grid reliability, funding for border security and law enforcement, education and school security measures, initiatives to “move Texas forward,” and election integrity.
Patrick’s press conference was held following the Legislative Budget Board’s (LBB) adoption of the state’s economic growth rate. The LBB, chaired by Patrick and Phelan, determines the rate of economic growth in order to set the constitutional spending cap. The Texas Constitution limits spending of state tax revenue not dedicated by the Constitution to the estimated rate of growth of the state economy, limiting the amount of money the state can spend every two-year budget cycle. The LBB used population growth and inflation forecasts to adopt a 12.3% rate, equating to $12.5 billion more in the next budget than they did in the current biennium before the cap is busted. The state has an estimated $27 billion surplus going into session, although Comptroller Glenn Hegar will revise (and probably increase) that as part of his revenue estimate (how much the Legislature has to spend) to be released before the Legislature convenes in January.
Part of the pre-session preparations include getting offices set up and staff hired. New members and veterans alike spend a significant amount of time on this in the December leading up to a session year, and the governor is no different. Abbott recently announced his new leadership team ahead of next session, and TAD’s own Shayne Woodard is now part of that team. On Dec. 15, Woodard began his new role as the governor’s legislative director. Woodard first began working with TAD in 2003 and has been a friend of the entire agriculture industry long before that. We wish him the best of luck in his new role – thank you, Shayne, for all you have done for the Texas dairy industry!Even though Woodard has departed TAD’s governmental affairs team, we – Lauren and J Pete, plus TAD Executive Director Darren Turley – continue to serve as your eyes and ears at the Texas Capitol.