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Lt. Gov. Packs Education, Election Committees With Republicans

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday announced his appointments to the Senate’s 16 standing committees that will see Republicans dominating the committees that oversee public schools and voting.

The Senate Education Committee, which will handle bills on private school vouchers, and the Senate Committee on State Affairs, which oversees the state’s administration of voting and other issues, both have disproportionately more Republicans than other committees and the chamber as a whole.

Education

Patrick tapped Sens. Brandon Creighton and Donna Campbell as respective chair and co-chair of the Senate Committee on Education. They will reprise their roles on that committee from last session.

Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott last session made it a priority to fund a state program to offer public school students vouchers to attend private schools, but those efforts eventually died due to resistance from several longtime rural Republican lawmakers and from Democrats.

In the 2024 election, many Republicans and Democrats lost seats to much more conservative candidates who campaigned on passing a voucher program, and Gov. Abbott subsequently declared that he had the votes to make it law.

Though this year’s Education Committee is mostly unchanged from the last session, Patrick made changes to tighten Republican control of the voucher issue in the Senate. He has shrunk the Education Committee from 13 members to 11 members, eliminating two seats held by sitting senators Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) and Peter Flores (R-Pleasanton), the two most moderate Republicans in the Senate last session, according to an analysis by Rice University political scientist Mark Jones.

And two members of the previous Education Committee were replaced in the 2024 elections by candidates who were at least as conservative. Sen. Drew Springer Jr. (R-Denton) will be replaced by his successor for that district, Republican Brent Hagenbuch, while Corpus Christi Democrat Morgan LaMantia lost a challenge from her Republican challenger Adam Hinojosa, who had the backing of Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and former President Donald Trump.

Patrick has appointed both of those replacements to the Education Committee, making for a significantly more conservative body than last session. All of those modifications together mean that nearly 82% of the committee’s members will be Republicans, who comprise only about 64% of the Senate as a whole.

The remaining members of the committee will be unchanged from last session. They are:

• Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston)

• Phil King (R-Weatherford)

• José Menéndez (D-San Antonio)

• Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston)

• Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound)

• Angela Paxton (R-McKinney)

• Royce West (D-Dallas)

State Affairs

The Senate Committee on State Affairs will be led by Mineola Republican Sen. Bryan Hughes as chair, with Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney) as vice chair. Both also served in those roles on the committee last session.

The State Affairs Committee is given broad jurisdiction to consider bills on nearly any topic. Most recently, the lieutenant governor charged it with overseeing election security, social media’s effects on minors, regulations on THC beverages and homelessness programs, according to the committee’s interim report published earlier this month.  

State Affairs is even more overrepresented by Republicans than the Education Committee. They will comprise nearly 91% of the State Affairs Committee — all but one of its 11 seats. Laredo Democratic Sen. Judith Zaffirini will be the only Democrat on the committee.

To do that, Patrick replaced Sen. José Menéndez (D-San Antonio), who served on the committee last session, with Republican Sen. Bob Hall of Edgewood, who was ranked as the third-most conservative Republican in the Senate last session according to Jones’s roll call analysis.

Patrick also replaced Corpus Christi Democrat Morgan LaMantia with her successor, Republican Sen. Hinojosa, as he did on the Education Committee.

Otherwise, the list of committee members will be identical to last session. Returning other members include the following:

• Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston)

• Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury)

• Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston)

• Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound)

• Charles Perry (R-Lubbock)

• Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown)

Other general trends

Patrick appointed some of the most extreme Republicans in the Senate to the most committees. Galveston Republican Mayes Middleton was appointed to six committees, the most of any senator this session, and will be vice chair of one, the Local Government Committee. He was the second-most conservative Republican last year, according to Jones’s analysis.

The most conservative Republican last session, Mineola Republican Bryan Hughes, was close behind, securing five committee appointments. But three Democrats got just as many appointments: Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen, Nathan Johnson of Dallas and Borris Miles of Houston.

Houston Republican Joan Huffman got only two appointments this session, the fewest of any senator. She was the fourth-most moderate Republican senator last session, per Jones. Jacksonville Republican Robert Nichols, the most moderate Republican last session, got just three committee appointments.

True to the Republican platform, Democrats will not chair any of the committees, but several will serve as vice chairs, including Royce West and Nathan Johnson of Dallas, Judith Zaffirini of Laredo and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen.

Finance

• Joan Huffman (R-Houston), chair

• Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen), vice chair

• Carol Alvarado (D-Houston)

• Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston)

• Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels)

• Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe)

• Peter Flores (R-Pleasanton)

• Bob Hall (R-Edgewood)

• Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham)

• Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville)

• Angela Paxton (R-McKinney)

• Charles Perry (R-Lubbock)

• Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown)

• Royce West (D-Dallas)

• Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo)

Transportation

• Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville), chair

• Royce West (D-Dallas), vice chair

• Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston)

• Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton)

• Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen)

• Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas)

• Phil King (R-Weatherford)

• Borris Miles (D-Houston)

• Charles Perry (R-Lubbock)

Health and Human Services

• Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), chair

• Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), vice chair

• César Blanco (D-El Paso)

• Molly Cook (D-Houston)

• Bob Hall (R-Edgewood)

• Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills)

• Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola)

• Borris Miles (D-Houston)

• Kevin Sparks (R-Midland)

Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs

• Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), chair

• Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills), vice chair

• Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury)

• César Blanco (D-El Paso)

• Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio)

• Adam Hinojosa (R-Corpus Christi)

• Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas)

• Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham)

• Kevin Sparks (R-Midland)

Business and Commerce

• Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown), chair

• Phil King (R-Weatherford), vice chair

• César Blanco (D-El Paso)

• Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels)

• Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe)

• Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas)

• Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham)

• José Menéndez (D-San Antonio)

• Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston)

• Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville)

• Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo)

Natural Resources

• Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury), chair

• Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), vice chair

• Carol Alvarado (D-Houston)

• César Blanco (D-El Paso)

• Peter Flores (R-Pleasanton)

• Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills)

• Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola)

• Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound)

• Kevin Sparks (R-Midland)

Nominations

• Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), chair

• Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton), vice chair

• Carol Alvarado (D-Houston)

• Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury)

• Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin)

• Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola)

• Borris Miles (D-Houston)

• Angela Paxton (R-McKinney)

• Kevin Sparks (R-Midland)

Administration

• Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), chair

• Adam Hinojosa (R-Corpus Christi), vice chair

• Molly Cook (R-)

• Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin)

• Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham)

• José Menéndez (D-San Antonio)

• Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston)

Criminal Justice

• Peter Flores (R-Pleasanton), chair

• Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound), vice chair

• Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton)

• Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen)

• Joan Huffman (R-Houston)

• Phil King (R-Weatherford)

• Borris Miles (D-Houston)

Local Government

• Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), chair

• Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), vice chair

• Molly Cook (R-Houston)

• Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio)

• Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville)

• Angela Paxton (R-McKinney)

• Royce West (D-Dallas)

Criminal Justice

• Peter Flores (R-Pleasanton), chair

• Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound), vice chair

• Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton)

• Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen)

• Joan Huffman (R-Houston)

• Phil King (R-Weatherford)

• Borris Miles (D-Houston)

Veteran Affairs

• Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills), chair

• Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound), vice chair

• Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin)

• Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio)

• Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton)

• Bob Hall (R-Edgewood)

• José Menéndez (D-San Antonio)

Border Security

• Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury), chair

• Peter Flores (R-Pleasanton), vice chair

• Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin)

• Adam Hinojosa (R-Corpus Christi)

• Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen)

Jurisprudence

• Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), chair

• Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas), vice chair

• Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe)

• Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) • Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston)

Sam Stockbridge
Sam Stockbridge
Sam Stockbridge is an award-winning reporter covering politics and the legislature. When he isn’t wonking out at the Capitol, you can find him birding or cycling around Austin.

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