Todd's Corner
And they are off….. The 86th Texas Legislative Session is underway. The first big order of business for the House of Representatives was electing a new Speaker. Late last fall
Representative Dennis Bonnen of Brazoria County announced the he had enough support to become Speaker of the Texas House on opening day. Shortly after that announcement the remaining candidates for Speaker dropped out of the race leaving an uncontested pathway for the Chairman of the Ways and Means committee to become Speaker over the 86th legislative session. The General Election did bring many new faces to the leg- islature. The Democrats picked up 12 seats in the House and two in the Senate. That breaks down to 83 Republicans in the House and 67 Democrats, the Senate now has 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats. The Republicans still hold the majority, but the smaller
margins will make for a better process.
The next question on our minds, is who will be in the leadership roles. That is the million-dollar question that I cannot answer at this time, but I can help with the question of timing. Lieutenant Governor Patrick will likely announce his committee appointments in January, while the Speaker’s appointments may not come until early February. This is simply a difference in workload. The Lt. Governor has 31 members to appoint and the Speaker must work through how 149 members can have a positive impact to Texas through their committee work. I am sure it is a daunting task for both leaders!
Jeanne and I are keeping a close eye on the bills that get filed to ensure that nothing bad makes it through the process. I would encourage each of you to follow the progress of the 86th legislature through Texas Legislature Online
capitol.texas.gov. I hope you have February 20, 2019 on your calendar for the Affordable Housing Rally Day! This a great way to connect with the legislative members that represent your community. We always have a great turn out from the TALHFA membership and I am sure this year will be no different. Go to
www.TALHFA.org or
www.TAAHP.org to registered by February 6th.
Please continue to send the photos from your groundbreakings and any community stories to the TALHFA office. They are included in TALHFA Talk. Remember, TALHFA Talk is hand delivered to every state Representative and Senator in Texas.
Todd’s Tip: Stay active and Involved with Government. “If you are not at the table then you may be on the menu”
Winter 2018 / 2019
TALHFA
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