WHEREAS, the first act of the Dustin Burrows-led Texas House of Representatives was the passage of a rules package, HR 4, the authors of which include former Obama Administration attorney Hugh Brady, that granted Vice Chairmen of committees, who will now solely be Democrats, additional powers such as designating matters to promptly be scheduled for hearing, preparation of impact statements, and designating witnesses; and

WHEREAS, the “No Democrat Chairs” Legislative Priority reads, “The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature shall end the practice of awarding committee chairmanships to Democrats and require all committees to be majority Republican”; and

WHEREAS, the Rules passed by the House do not achieve this priority in letter or in spirit: new permanent subcommittees, which will handle legislation and are appointed by the Speaker, may still be chaired by Democrats, and Democrat Vice Chairs are now placed on every committee and granted unprecedented power to introduce measures and attack Republican legislation; and

WHEREAS, several Republican Representatives wrote and signed amendments intended to repair the defects included in the leadership-presented rules, but were prevented from discussing or voting on them by a motion called “Previous Question,” which has only rarely been used in the House, that, when passed, immediately moves a measure to a vote with no further debate; and

WHEREAS, Representative Katrina Pierson eloquently stated in the House Journal that she

could not, in good conscience, support the House Rules package. Despite numerous concerns with the proposed rules, debate was abruptly shut down, leaving no room for questions or clarifications on these significant changes. This approach does not reflect the will of my constituents, nor does it serve the best interests of Texans who expect open and transparent decision-making.

Hundreds of pages with major changes were revealed only hours before the vote. My constituents do not want major operational changes snuck through without fair review and with so few being included in the process.

My district has been clear in demanding an end to power-sharing with democrats, which I support wholeheartedly, but this proposal seemingly only shifts how power is shared and tries to disguise it. Despite what’s being touted as a ban on democratic committee chairs, the new vice-chair powers and additional subcommittees allow democrats even more control over our agenda than before. My constituents helped elect a republican majority to deliver on conservative promises, not to hand the reins back to democrats under another name; and

WHEREAS, 35 Republican Representatives are listed (either by voting against or by asking to be shown as voting no) in the House Journal as no votes on the motion for Previous Question; and

WHEREAS, grassroots Republicans have, by necessity and through experience, learned to follow every action and every vote taken in the Texas Legislature, and will not be fooled by dishonest efforts to enact Legislative Priorities in name only while subverting the substance of the Priorities; now

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Republican Party of Texas considers a vote in favor of Previous Question on HR 4 to be a violation of the Legislative Priority to Ban Democrat Chairs for the purposes of censure under Republican Party of Texas Rule No. 44.