More Democrats than Republicans voted for Burrows’ speakership. -  view article

AUSTIN — Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson will today open proceedings in the Texas House of Representatives for the 89th Legislative Session at noon.  

Burrows claims the support of a coalition of Republicans and Democrats, while Cook has the endorsement of the GOP caucus.   view article

Representative Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos opted to vote for ultra-conservative-backed GOP candidate David Cook instead of majority Democratic-supported Speaker-elect Dustin Burrows.   view article

A bipartisan coalition elected Dustin Burrows as House Speaker. The Lubbock Republican defeated Mansfield Rep. David Cook.  The Republican arm wrestling over the Texas House gavel was settled Tuesday — thanks in large part to a coalition of Democrats that backed Rep. Dustin Burrows, the Republican from Lubbock, over his opponent, Republican Rep. David Cook of Mansfield.  view article

After he was elected speaker of the Texas House on Tuesday, Rep. Dustin Burrows promised that his door would be open to everyone in the chamber — even those who supported his rival, Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield. view article

The last time the rules were voted on this late was in 2009, the first session of former Speaker Joe Straus.   view article

Of the $194.6 billion available for general-purpose spending, $176.4 billion comes from general revenue-related funds, and $23.76 billion is in surplus.  view article

The Texas Senate unanimously elected Republican State Sen. Brandon Creighton of Conroe as president pro tempore during the first day of the legislative session. view article

"Speaker Burrows was handed the speakership by Democrats, as has happened behind closed doors session after session since 2009," said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate. "Each of these bills will be passed again by the Texas Senate. The voters will hold our new speaker accountable to keep his promise of being the most conservative speaker in Texas history."       view article

Burrows defeated Rep. David Cook with a coalition of Republican and Democratic votes.   view article

On Tuesday, Welsh released a statement that the university “will continue to honor both the letter and intent of the law.” view article

More property tax relief considered.  Comptroller Glenn Hegar will release the Biennial Revenue Estimate to the legislature. That estimate will reveal how much lawmakers can spend on the fiscal year 2026-27 state budget. Hegar will also confirm the state's surplus, which is projected at $20 billion, and how much will be in the economic stabilization fund also known as the "rainy day" fund. Eye on Politics reporter Jack Fink spoke with five state lawmakers from across North Texas to see what they think the state should do with the expected surplus and if that includes more relief for Texas homeowners. During the 2023 session lawmakers passed, and voters approved, $18 billion worth of reductions from the school portion of the property tax bill.   view article

With recent GOP election wins in the Texas House and Texas Senate, all eyes are on school choice, border security and election integrity. view article

The 2025 Texas legislative session begins at noon Tuesday and runs through June 2. Lawmakers have 140 days to pass a two-year state budget and hundreds of bills that will impact Texans' lives. On the first day, lawmakers will be sworn in, Gov. Greg Abbott will speak — and the House will elect a new speaker. view article

The new speaker will have a dramatic impact on the direction of this year’s lawmaking — and potentially the future of the Legislature.   view article

From debating school vouchers and improving the state’s water supply to reining in property taxes, the GOP-led body will look to pass its conservative priorities amid fighting within the party.   view article

With the legislative session just days away, Club for Growth says it is going to push hard for universal school choice and other conservative priorities in Texas. view article

Paxton’s latest tour is the continuation of his efforts in the past year to get political revenge on House Republicans who supported his impeachment.   view article

State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst’s proposal would require members to attend a minimum of 75 percent of board meetings. view article

The new legislation aims to codify one of President-elect Donald Trump’s most successful immigration policies into federal law.   view article

Patrick accused a small of group of lawmakers of running the Texas House like a “personal business.”  Concerns over a group of lawmakers connected to Texas House leadership and their mutual ties to Third Coast Bank resurfaced over the weekend, just days before the House is set to gavel in and elect a new Speaker. view article

Here’s a rundown of how legislation moves through the Capitol, the ways lawmakers operate and who the power players are. view article

Harris is among a minority of Republicans who refuse to support the Republican nominee for speaker of the House.  view article

More than 8 million Texans live in areas affected by drought, according the National Drought Mitigation Center. And without significant legislative appropriations, water shortages are expected to worsen as the population grows. view article

This coverage is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting access. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletters here. view article

The House Ethics Committee on Monday cleared two Texas Republican congressmen — Wesley Hunt of Houston and Ronny Jackson of Amarillo — for violating campaign finance law by allegedly spending campaign money for personal use. view article

The freshman congressman will lead the influential progressive caucus next year with plans to focus on working class and economic issues instead of culture wars. view article

In a Q&A, Burrows said he’s still confident he’ll win. But he says the leadership race is bigger than any one person and his supporters are trying to protect the integrity of the House.   view article

In an already heated race for Texas House Speaker, state GOP officials are hoping to wield new powers that would ensure their preferred candidate wins — and give them unprecedented control over who can run in Republican primaries. view article

Texas officials are reviewing 15 companies over their privacy practices for children using their services—including how they use minors’ data. view article

The letter asks for all documents and communications relating to the hospital’s resumption of gender mutilation procedures and whistleblower Dr. Eithan Haim.   view article

Some members of the House seeking to keep the Democrat power-sharing structure in place are pushing for a redo of the House Republican Caucus speaker nomination after losing the vote to State Rep. David Cook last weekend. view article

The Lubbock ISD School Board announced Thursday that Hodges Elementary students will be rezoned to Bean Elementary for the 2025-26 school year. The decision was based on parent, student and staff feedback through a survey. They wanted to take action on the decision before the transfer window opened next Tuesday so parents had time to make a different decision if needed. view article

Gov. Abbott’s statement followed an earlier message denying support for Dustin Burrows.  view article