Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick released the list of committee assignments for the 87th legislative session. There are not a lot of surprises with regard to the committees, however there are some notable changes.
Patrick got rid of the Intergovernmental Relations committee and created two new committees, Jurisprudence and Local Government chaired by Sen. Joan Huffman and Sen. Paul Bettencourt. Bettencourt was Chair of the Committee on Property Tax last session which has also been dissolved.
This leaves Democrats without a single chairmanship. Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. who had chaired the Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs last session will be Vice Chair of the Finance Committee.
Sen. Kel Seliger, who was the long term chair of Higher Education and was stripped of his chairmanship last session after butting heads with Patrick is now Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee.
See the full list of committee chairs below, and click here for the full member list.
| Charles Schwertner | Administration Committee |
| Kelly Hancock | Business & Commerce Committee |
| John Whitmire | Criminal Justice Committee |
| Larry Taylor | Education Committee |
| Jane Nelson | Finance Committee |
| Lois Kolkhorst | Health & Human Services Committee |
| Brandon Creighton | Higher Education Committee |
| Joan Huffman | Jurisprudence |
| Paul Bettencourt | Local Government |
| Brian Birdwell | Natural Resources & Economic Development Committee |
| Dawn Buckingham | Nominations Committee |
| Bryan Hughes | State Affairs Committee |
| Robert Nichols | Transportation Committee |
| Donna Campbell | Veterans Affairs & Border Security Committee |
| Charles Perry | Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee |
| Brandon Creighton | Senate Select Committee on Ports |
| Joan Huffman | Senate Special Committee on Redistricting |
