Texas House moves forward after new speaker was elected
AUSTIN, Texas - The 89th Texas Legislative Session is now underway. With new leadership roles in place, lawmakers are focusing on which bills to start moving forward.
The backstory
What we know:
On the first day of the legislative session, the Texas House elected a new speaker, Rep. Dustin Burrows.
A total of 76 votes were needed to elect a speaker.
On the first ballot, State. Rep Dustin Burrows had 71 votes, David Cook had 56, and democrat Ana Maria Ramos had 23 votes. In the second round of voting, democrats provided the numbers to make Rep. Dustin Burrows the new House Speaker. The vote was Burrows 85 and Cook 55. Nine House members were listed as Not Voting.
RELATED: Texas Legislature: House elects Rep. Dustin Burrows as new speaker
House and senate leaders are working on rules for the session. Some lawmakers are hoping for a quick turn.
"Part of the problem with the way that the House has operated in the past is that we don't get our work done quickly or efficiently or effectively, and then we end up back over and over and over again to follow through on the things that we promised our constituents. And so, I am all for that to end. But if it is going to change. It is going to take a change in culture and a true change in the leadership style of the House. And I think ultimately it will be up to Speaker Burrows whether he takes that challenge," said Rep. Ellen Troxclair.
Democrat Chris Turner was optimistic lawmakers will be able to get past any hard feelings.
"I think that everyone here has the opportunity to put whatever's in the past, in the past and agree that we're going to work together for the betterment of the people of Texas," said Rep Turner (D) Grand Prairie.
Troxclair is also optimistic the legislative process will move forward.
"We did a lot of good work in the past, but we have more to do. And now with Trump in the presidency, we have this one session," said Troxclair.
The Republican caucus was fractured over the Speakers race. Troxclair was asked if the caucus could come together.
"We have these two years to really make sure that we are delivering for the people of Texas. And so I'm on the right side of my district. And they want me to be bolder than ever in going forward and being the voice at the state capitol. Whether or not my colleagues agree, you know, kind of remains to be seen. But I will tell you that absolutely a majority of the Republican caucus is ready to get to work and get to work today," said Troxclair.
Big picture view:
Governor Greg Abbott, who spoke in the Senate on Tuesday, urged lawmakers to focus on big issues like bail reform.
"It is going to be up to us in the Senate and the House and working with you to make sure we do something about that, so we stop criminals from killing innocent people in our state," said Gov. Abbott.
The Governor also called for foster care reform. More tax cuts and school choice.
"Certainly, we need to do a lot with respect to child protective services, foster care and a lot of other programs of the Health and Human Services domain. Obviously, you know, the voucher scam that he's continuing to push, I oppose, all Democrats in the House oppose, and a number of Republicans. So, we'll see what happens there," said Turner.
RELATED: Dustin Burrows elected as Texas Speaker of the House. Here's what it means
Troxclair added that lawmakers have a responsibility to do what they were sent there to do.
"So, there's no hurt feelings about it. It's business," said Troxclair.
Local perspective:
For Troxclair, there are two bills she will be pushing.
"I have refiled my bill to define once and for all what a woman is. To make sure that women are protected in their spaces and are never forced to undress in front of men and locker rooms. I'm hopefully looking forward to getting that bill passed. And we have to protect kids from the dangers of social media that are destroying our next generation. And provide them a great space to learn in school. So, another priority of mine is to make sure that schools have policies in place where their kids phones are away, out of sight, out of mind from bell to bell, and that while they're in school, they're focused on learning, reading, writing, math, and not on getting on social media. We have a mental health epidemic among our young kids who are spending over five hours a day on social media, and suicide rates have skyrocketed because of it," said Troxclair.
Turner said his biggest priority is continuing to work to strengthen the safety net for intellectually and developmentally disabled Texans.
"A lot of times they end up in what's known as group homes or even boarding homes. We strengthened some of the health safety standards around those facilities to better protect vulnerable Texans," said Turner.
What's next:
House rules could be set on Thursday, Jan. 16.
The Senate does not return to work until Wednesday, Jan. 22.
The Source: Information from 89th Texas Legislative Session