Texas Political News
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus released the full list of House interim charges on Monday, and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick released his first wave of Senate interim charges on Monday as well. The Lt. Governor is expected to release the rest of his interim charges later this week. A large number of charges focus on the response to Hurricane Harvey and almost every committees list of charges includes a Harvey related item. In addition to continuing the response to Hurricane Harvey, many charges also call for a review of how certain state agencies responded to the storm.
Speaker Straus issued more than 230 interim charges and has created two new House Select Committees to study certain issues during the interim: 
  • The House Select Committee on Economic Competitiveness will study what the state should do to bring businesses, jobs, investment and workers to Texas. The committee will also look at how investing in education and infrastructure, as well as how certain social issues may dissuade top talent from moving to Texas. The committee will be chaired by Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, and Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston as vice chair.
  • The House Select Committee on Opioids and Substance Abuse will study the effect and prevalence of substance abuse in Texas. The committee largely resembles last interims Committee on Mental Health, and will look to further understand the social and economic cost substance abuse. The committee will be chaired by Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo, and Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso as vice chair.
The Lt. Governor has released 106 new interim charges so far – with more to come – and has created one new Senate Select Committee:
  • Select Committee on Employment Practices which will be chaired by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe. Senators Konni Burton, R-Colleyville, Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville and Royce West, D-Dallas will serve as members. The select committee will make recommendations on how to best guarantee the integrity of our state’s workforce.
For the full text of the most recent Senate Interim Charges click here
For the full text of the House Interim Charges click here