Texas House elects Burrows as speaker on opening day

On Jan. 14, State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) was elected speaker of the Texas House of Representatives for the 89th Legislative Session by a coalition of Republicans and Democrats, defeating State Rep. David Cook (R-Mansfield) in one of the most contentious races for speaker in recent years.

Each session begins with members of the Texas House and Senate swearing their oaths of office, celebrating with family members, and gearing up for the political battles to come. The first day also includes the speaker election in the House. 

House Republicans were split on the two major candidates. Cook vowed to end the longstanding practice of appointing members of both parties to chair committees and is considered to be an ally of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Burrows is regarded as more likely to push back in the inevitable House skirmishes with the Senate, but, like Cook, still has the conservative bona fides to effectively advance much of the governor and lieutenant governor’s legislative priorities for the session. State Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos (D-Richardson) also threw her hat in the ring, knowing well that her candidacy as a Democrat was something of a symbolic gesture.

In the leadup to the session, both Burrows and Cook claimed they had the requisite 76 votes to secure the gavel. The House Republican Caucus endorsed Cook. Despite threats of censure from the Texas Republican Party aimed at members supporting Burrows, and after the initial vote that included Rodriguez Ramos led to a runoff between Cook and Burrows, 36 Republicans and 49 Democrats easily elected Burrows to lead the chamber. 

Burrows supported private school voucher legislation in the 2023 session, but it remains to be seen how that support will manifest this time. Patrick has advocated for teacher pay raises as well as voucher legislation; last session, the Senate passed both voucher legislation and school finance/teacher pay bills, with Patrick insistent on approval of the voucher proposal before moving forward with school funding and raises. In the House, the topics were eventually combined in a single bill, and it is not yet known how those issues will be handled under Burrows’ leadership. 

With the speaker election out of the way, the lengthy process of assigning members to House committees is the next major hurdle. It will be some time until those committees meet and begin to consider legislation, but TCTA will keep you updated with the latest developments at the Capitol as the session progresses.