Category: Texas Senate

Campaign Literature 101

It’s started. The other day I received this piece of campaign literature from Representative Stan Gerdes. Oops! I’ll bet that’s what you thought too.

No. It wasn’t from Stan Gerdes. It was about Stan Gerdes. It was from Americans for Prosperity.

About a year ago, I wrote a post called “Read Between the Lines” about campaign literature. All campaign literature is sophisticated marketing material. It’s meant to manipulate. Don’t be fooled.

This piece of literature was paid for by Americans for Prosperity (AFP). That’s a PAC, a political action committee. Who are they? Who else have they funded?

A look at their legally required reporting to the Texas Ethics Commission shows AFP supported ten current Republican Texas House members1. Six of those ten voted to impeach Ken Paxton, including Stan Gerdes. The other five were Angie Chen Button, Janie Lopez, John Lujan, Morgan Meyer, and Ben Bumgarner.

School Choice

So while Stan Gerdes and the other five have all signed on as co-sponsors of HB3, the House bill on Education Savings Accounts, they also voted to impeach Ken Paxton.

Did you know there are two school choice bills? Maybe not and this literature doesn’t tell you that.

The Texas Senate has passed one (SB2) and has sent it to the Texas House for consideration. And, that’s where it sits.

The Texas House has its own bill (HB3) and that one has its first public hearing on Tuesday March 11. Should that pass as it is written, the Senate and House will have to come together to iron out the differences between the two bills. If they can’t do that, school choice will not make it to the Governor’s desk.

If you’re going to call Stan Gerdes’ office as this literature suggests, ask which of the two bills he supports. If his staff says the House bill, HB3, ask if he’d also support the Senate bill. If not, why not. The devil is in the details, as they say.

Read Between the Lines

1 Only one rep receiving AFP donations voted against Ken Paxton’s impeachment. The other three are new reps.

The Clock is Ticking

Did you know that the Texas Legislature meets for only 140 days every 2 years? Some of us think that’s good as it limits the damage they can do. Others think it’s not enough time. One would think that with only 140 days, they’d work every single day for the State of Texas and its citizens.

At least in the Texas House, they don’t.

A quick look around the website Capitol.Texas.Gov shows the work done so far by the House and Senate. The Texas Legislature (House and Senate) gaveled in on January 14, 2025.

The Texas House

  • The full House has met 8 of the 18 days since then. They won’t gavel in again until February 4.
  • The House elected a Speaker and adopted rules, without debate or amendments being allowed. (more on that in another post)
  • Speaker Dustin Burrows has not yet assigned committees. Thus, House committees have not met.

The Texas Senate

  • The full Senate has met 6 of the 18 days. They gavel in again on February 3.
  • Senate committees have met 9 times: Sunset Advisory Commission, Finance Committee, Education K-16 Committee, Administration Committee.
  • Senate Bill 1 (SB1) Appropriations, was sent to the Finance Committee on January 22.

More than 10% of this session is over and the Texas House doesn’t even have committees assigned. They were to be assigned today, but Speaker Burrows announced on Tuesday that wouldn’t happen.

The Governor gives his State of the State address on Sunday, February 2. He will announce his priorities. Once done, those priorities can be addressed immediately, yet the House won’t even have committees to do so.

So much to look forward to in the coming days. Will Democrats be appointed as chairs of the new category of “Permanent Standing Subcommittees”? What will Governor Abbott specify as his legislative priorities? Will we get our overpayment of taxes (surplus) back or will the legislature spend it? Will loyal Burrows renegade House members be rewarded with committee chairmanships? Will we finally find out how much the House spent last session to impeach Ken Paxton? Will we find out how much Democrat vice-chairs can spend on committee work? Will legislators get raises or will we never see a 2025 Housekeeping resolution? The clock is ticking….