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The Blast - April 15, 2025 [1]
['The Texas Tribune']
Date: 2025-04
31 days for the House to pass legislation that originated in the House 48 days until sine die
He also said “school choice was on the ballot last November,” when Republicans flipped two House seats and several of his pro-voucher primary candidates secured their offices.
Abbott’s office shot The Blast a statement. “Let’s be clear about what’s happening here: Texas Democrats are preparing to block property tax relief and to allow violent murderers back on the streets with low bail, all to serve their teachers union overlords who think they know better than Texas parents what their children need,” press secretary Andrew Mahaleris said.
Putting the education savings account program to Texas voters is not the only demand Democrats have. However, several who have signed on to the plan aren’t even sure of their other demands.
Still, proposed constitutional amendments are on a postponement streak. Today, House members postponed HJRs 2 , 5 and 6 for one week. It marked the second postponement for HJRs 2 and 6. Some Republicans are wondering whether the education savings account bill ( Senate Bill 2 ) should’ve been taken up earlier to clear the waters.
The effort will come down to whether the majority of Democrats can keep several “leadership” Democrats and moderates in line. Leadership Democrats are a small cohort of the caucus who are closely aligned with Speaker Dustin Burrows when it comes to how to run the Texas House.
At least two of The Blast’s sources put Democrats’ whip count around 57 or 58 Democrats who are holding fast to block all House joint resolutions. Republican leadership is monitoring the situation, but they aren’t certain that Democrats have the votes.
To start off today’s regular programming, we’d like to follow up on a few notes from the Bulletin.
Welcome to this session’s first Tuesday edition of The Blast! We plan to bring this premium politics newsletter to you five days a week for the rest of session. We also brought you a breaking news Blast Bulletin this morning on Democrats’ efforts to foil the voucher effort by using their votes to spike constitutional amendments prioritized by the GOP.
BUDGET NIGHT 2.0
In trying to get Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton his back pay, House conservative hardliners found a way to relitigate the budget a few days after budget night.
When the House prepared to appoint conferees on Senate Bill 1, the budget bill, Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, came forward with a “motion to instruct” the conferees to try to get Paxton his lost pay when they go to negotiate with the Senate. The lead conferee, Appropriations Committee Chair Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, told the House he would be voting in favor of the motion and released members to vote their conscience and district.
The motion ultimately passed 88-55, with six Democrats and four Republicans crossing party lines. Notably, former House Speaker Dade Phelan, the Beaumont Republican who led the House through its impeachment of Paxton, voted to get the attorney general his money back.
But members didn’t stop there.
Conservative Republicans offered a half dozen motions “to instruct,” to varying degrees of success. The votes entered into the record a barometer of several of the hardliners’ top issues.
One notable motion called on the House conferees to keep the Texas Lottery Commission defunded, codifying the legislative maneuver Democrats Mary González of Clint and Erin Zwiener of Driftwood pulled on budget night last week. That motion passed 89-57, with Democrats John Bryant of Dallas, Richard Peña Raymond of Laredo and Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos of Richardson in support and no Republicans opposed.
Between the debate, distribution of motions and points of order, the House spent just shy of two hours on SB 1.
“Sounds like budget night 2.0,” one freshman Republican joked on the floor as the House took a break to prep the motions for members’ viewing.
Finally, the House approved Bonnen, Appropriations Vice Chair González, Rep. Stan Kitzman, R-Pattison, Rep. Angelia Orr, R-Itasca, and Armando Walle, D-Houston, as conferees. They’ll negotiate with the all-Republican Senate team, Finance Committee Chair Joan Huffman of Houston plus Sens. Brandon Creighton of Conroe, Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham, Robert Nichols of Jacksonville and Charles Schwertner of Georgetown.
It marked the first time since 2017 that members have filed motions “to instruct” on the budget. Those are nonbinding motions that outline some notes for the conferees when they go to negotiate with the other chamber, but they amount to little more than a wishlist.
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