Photo by Al Braden
By Cyrus Reed
Get those presents bought and wrapped cause on January 10th, it’s deja vu all over again. That’s right, the 88th Texas Legislative Session begins with a whole new batch of bills - some good, some bad, and some outright ugly.
In fact, more than 1,000 bills have been “pre-filed” already, with many, many more on the way. Indeed, in most legislative sessions, somewhere around 6,000 bills get filed, with a small percentage making it to the governor’s office for his signature or (occasionally) his veto.
So who are these 31 Senators, 150 Representatives, and one Lt. Governor making their way to the Pink Dome?
The Republicans are still very much in control
After the 2022 midterm elections, Texas remains a state in the control of the GOP. First, both Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Speaker of the House Dade Phelan will return to their seats of power. (Okay, technically, the House needs to hold an election for Speaker but given Republican control, Phelan will be the next Speaker).
The Texas House and Senate will see substantial turnover heading into this legislative session. Six new Senators and 23 new Representatives will join the Capitol ranks.
The Senate
The Senate has some new faces, but the party balance is the same with 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats.Four of the new Senators are moving from the House to the Senate, while one - Pete Flores - is returning to the Senate although in a very different district. In addition, longtime Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. - who frequently voted with the Republicans on some issues - has retired, and Democrat Morgan LaMantia has taken his place. While the rules have not been set yet, you can bet your bottom dollar that Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and leadership will make sure that Democrats cannot block any bill Republicans want to bring to the Senate floor. It means it will be very hard to stop a bill in the Senate that Dan Patrick wants to pass.
The House
The party ratio in the Texas House is also similar to last session with 64 Democrats and 86 Republicans. There are lots of new faces - 23 in all. Under House rules, Democrats have enough seats to give them some leverage over bills they oppose, though in reality as we saw during the last legislative session, if the Republicans really want to pass a bill they can (remember all the special sessions?).
Interested in who is supposed to represent your interests at the Texas Legislature? Look them up here!
The Budget
What’s the one bill we know will pass?
Yep, the only bill that we know must pass is the budget. Every two years, the Legislature must prepare and approve a two-year budget. That’s everything - schools, roads, universities, parks, water, utility regulation, etc. This year’s budget could be historic.
First, an initial estimate from Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (Glenn Hegar) states that there is more than $27 billion available in the “Rainy Day” Fund for spending beyond the normal revenues the state receives from the federal government, sales tax and other taxes, and a variety of fees and fines. Second, the Comptroller has hinted that when he releases more official numbers in January, it could be even better news. Because the Rainy Day Fund comes from oil and gas taxes, and oil and gas prices are up, it could be substantially more. Third, under President Biden, there are literally billions of additional federal dollars available through two large financial packages - the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 - slated for a variety of Texas agencies that could supplement funds.
What this means is that Texas has a unique opportunity to invest in infrastructure, water supply and flood control, parks, transmission, energy efficiency, payment assistance, and a whole lot of other areas of critical need for Texans.
With the Governor having promised during his reelection campaign to also prioritize property tax relief, there will be a political discussion of how much to provide in tax relief versus how much to invest in state needs.
Sierra Club issues are your issues
We need you to help us make a difference. While we will of course be putting a lot of our emphasis on how to spend federal monies and the Rainy Day fund – think energy burden relief, energy efficiency, parks, water infrastructure and transmission - we have a number of other specific legislative priorities. First, many of the key state agencies are going through the Sunset Advisory Commission, meaning that legislation involving key state agencies like the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Texas Water Development Board, and others will be making their way into bills and we will try to add key protections for consumers.
Second, we will strategize with legislators on how to ensure clean water for all, more accessible clean energy programs, and protection from dirty air.
Third, we will continue to work with allies to push back against efforts to undermine democracy and local control.
Recently, our Chapter Executive Committee approved our 2023 Legislative Priorities which can be found below.
Sierra_Club_Legislative_Priorities_88th_Texas_Legislative_Session.pdf253.35 KB
Wait, what about those thousands of bills?
We are reading them and we plan to release our 88th Legislative Session legislative tracker on our website by the start of session so you can follow the bills online, see where they are in the legislative process, and whether we think they are good, bad, or just ugly.
Even though there is a lot of activity right now, the legislative session hasn’t actually begun yet and no bills can move until there is a hearing, and those hearings won’t happen until February at the earliest. Some key dates to remember are:
- Tuesday, January 10, 2023 (1st day) – Legislative Session Begins
- Friday, March 10, 2023 (60th day) – Last day a regular bill can be filed
- Monday, May 29, 2023 (140th day) – Legislative session ends (“Sine Die”)
Want a more in-depth view? Sign up to receive legislative updates in your inbox here! We will soon host a Legislative Primer 101 virtual meeting to take an in depth look at our priorities, and information about how to volunteer with us during the 88th legislative session.