Texas Scorecard by Brandon Waltens | April 8, 2024
The group is calling on the next Speaker of the House to implement a series of 12 reforms. A group of current and incoming Republican lawmakers are proposing a Contract with Texas, a set of reforms promising to improve the integrity, transparency, and efficiency of the Texas House.
The letter, signed by 13 members and members-elect, notes that while Republicans hold every statewide office and both chambers of the legislature, Democrats have held an outsized role in determining policy in the Texas House.
“[F]or far too long, Republican Speakers of the Texas House have centralized power to themselves, which renders individual Texans without effective representation, and colluded with Democrats to advance progressive policies and stop Republican priorities,” the letter reads.
To that end, the lawmakers have called on the next Speaker of the House to implement the following 12 reforms:
1. Only solicit support for Speakership from Republican members
2. End the practice of awarding Democrats with committee chairmanships
3. Ensure all GOP legislative priorities receive a floor vote before any Democrat bills
4. Replace the current liberal Parliamentarians with staff committed to only offering advice on adherence to House rules, not to advancing their personal ideology
5. Limit the Speaker to two terms to reduce their power over individual members
6. Ensure there are no longer any Democrat-majority committees
7. Stop parliamentary abuse by requiring only substantial adherence to House rules to keep hyper-technical points of order from killing good legislation
8. Allow audio/video recording of all House proceedings, including point of order debates
9. Start substantive work as soon as Session begins to end delays that kill priority legislation
10. Reform the Calendars Committee to increase transparency and accountability
11. Select a Republican as Speaker Pro Tempore
12. Decentralize power by prohibiting the distribution of political funds from the Speaker
“The future of our state is on the line, and, with an out-of-control federal government that seeks to undermine our borders, the Constitution, and our freedoms, Texas must lead by example. As conservative Republican members and prospective members of the Texas House, we are committed to reforming it from a body of liberal dysfunction to a body that more faithfully serves Texas voters, and it is time for new leadership in the Texas House,” the group wrote.
The letter was signed by current Republican State Reps. Brian Harrison (Midlothian), Nate Schatzline (Fort Worth), Steve Toth (The Woodlands), Tony Tinderholt (Arlington), and J.M Lozano (Kingsville).
The full Contract with Texas can be read here. More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/house-lawmakers-propose-contract-with-texas-to-end-liberal-dysfunction/
