Wednesday, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) issued 68 Interim Charges for House Committees to consider ahead of the 89th Legislative Session. These charges come nearly one month after Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick issued charges to committees in the Texas Senate.
What Are Interim Charges?
Interim charges are directives issued to a legislative committee by either the Lieutenant Governor, as the official who presides over the Texas Senate, or the Speaker of the House, as the official who presides over the Texas House of Representatives to study or focus on specific issues ahead of the next legislative session. The results of such studies will be published in an Interim Report which details the committee’s findings ahead of the next legislative session.
The 89th Legislative Session commences on January 14, 2025.
Highlights
Some of the highlights from the overall list include:
- The House Agriculture & Livestock Committee was directed to examine the foreign ownership of various types of land in Texas and determine whether industries and supply chains are adequately protected from threats and disruptions.
- The House Business & Industry Committee was tasked with evaluating the impact on housing prices and rent caused by institutional buyers and whether it results in families and individuals being unfairly priced out of homeownership.
- The House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee is charged with examining ways in which ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) policies are contradictory to fiduciary duties and result in a detrimental effect on investors.
- The House Public Education Committee was directed to consider issues related to educational opportunity including the evaluation of ESAs (Education Savings Accounts) in other states.
- The House State Affairs Committee includes several interesting charges such as conducting a review of all of the operations of agencies involved with Operation Lone Star as a part of Texas’ approach to border security or the evaluation of the 2024 Panhandle Wildfires in which a House Investigative Committee just submitted its report making legislative recommendations.
- The House Ways & Means Committee is tasked with evaluating appraisal cap reform on both homesteaded and non-homesteaded property on top of evaluating whether further compression of school M&O rates is plausible.
The full list of the Texas House’s 2024 Interim Legislative Charges can be found here:
Speaker Dade Phelan’s Statement
“The House has delivered a record number of achievements that strengthen our state’s leadership in economic growth and prosperity, while further establishing Texas as the nation’s trailblazer for conservative policy. Next session, we must continue to expand upon these groundbreaking efforts for all Texans.”
“Today, I issued interrim charges that set the foundation for House committees to gather insight from stakeholders and interested Texans, identify legislative solutions for our most pressing issues and make recommendations to the full House Chamber for consideration next session.”
“I thank the members of the Texas House for providing input on these charges and for their work in the months ahead preparing our next steps in securing a brighter future for our state.”
Statement by Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, 5.8.2024
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