By Lauren Fairbanks and J Pete Laney
TAD Governmental Affairs
Tuesday, Jan. 14, marked the first day of the 89th Texas legislative session. Both the House and Senate gaveled in their respective chambers at noon. The first order of business was to swear in the newly elected members of both bodies. Shortly after swearing in the members of the Texas House, the election for Speaker of the House – the chamber’s presiding officer – took place.
In the weeks and months leading up to Jan. 14, we watched the race and its drama play out. After Speaker Dade Phelan announced he would not seek another term as House leader, several candidates announced and later backed out. Ultimately, there were three candidates when the dust settled: Reps. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), David Cook (R-Mansfield) and Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos (D-Richardson).
The full House elected Burrows Speaker of the Texas House by a vote of 85-55. In his acceptance speech, Burrows mentioned property tax relief, public school support and water infrastructure investments as key priorities. In the coming days, he will focus on hiring the Speaker’s staff before getting down to business.
Over in the Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday released committee chair and member assignments. You can find the list here.
Ahead of the pomp and circumstance of opening day, Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the Budget Review Estimate (BRE) on Monday, Jan. 13. The BRE projects how much the state will have available in general revenue for the next two-year budget term. The Texas Constitution requires the Comptroller to issue the BRE in early January of odd-numbered years before the Legislature convenes.
For the 2026-27 biennium, the state can expect to have $194.6 billion in funds available for general-purpose spending, a 1.1% decrease from 2024-25. This decrease is attributable to a smaller beginning balance in the 2026-27 biennium ($23.76 billion) compared with 2024-25 ($39.43 billion). Lawmakers will now use the BRE as a resource to pass a balanced budget for the next two year during the legislative session, one that spends no more than what is estimated to be available.
To see the full report, click here.
Bill filing started in November and continues until March 14. To date, 2,584 bills have been filed in the House and Senate. Many of those will impact agriculture and rural Texas, and the Texas Association of Dairymen governmental relations team will monitor them as they work their way through the legislative process. For a primer on TAD priorities and positions and information on policy issues, please visit our website.
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