As the 89th Legislative Session progresses, the Texas Senate is off to a fast start, with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick aggressively pursuing his legislative priorities. Meanwhile, the Texas House, under Speaker Dustin Burrows, has maintained a slow pace and voted for organizational delays. 

Lt. Gov. Patrick’s work in the Senate has set a rapid pace for the 89th Legislative Session. Since January, Patrick has released a series of priority bills, and ten of these priority bills have already passed the Senate and are now on their way to the House for consideration.

Patrick has made it clear that the Senate intends to pass hundreds of bills during this session, and his bold conservative agenda is moving ahead without delay. With the Senate moving quickly, Patrick has reiterated his goal to have all 40 of his priority bills passed by mid-April. 

While the Senate has been active and productive, the Texas House has faced unnecessary delays. Committee assignments weren’t given to members until a month into the legislative session, and the House has repeatedly voted to take long five-day weekends.

These nonsensical delays have hampered the ability of lawmakers in the House to begin considering and advancing the bills that are already being actively debated in the Senate. As of now, the House has not passed any significant legislation, and the pressure is mounting as the bill-filing deadline is today, marking the 60th day of the session.

The slow start is a slap in the face to all Texans who elected their representatives to get work done. The House’s inaction, coupled with extended five-day weekends, makes one question the speaker’s commitment to efficiently handling important legislative matters, such as border security, election integrity, and banning taxpayer funded lobbying as well as the rest of our legislative priorities. 

The Parker County Republican Party is closely monitoring these developments. Thankfully, our State Representative, Mike Olcott has advocated against delays from House Leadership, and our Senators are hard at work.