The Blast - April 4, 2025

42 days for the House to pass legislation that originated in the House
59 days until sine die

IN TODAY’S BLAST

• Dan Patrick on Brian Harrison, and budget woes

• Patrick on lotto, Paxton and potential property tax deal

• Potential “Herrero amendment” replacement

• Texas Central hearing goes off the rails

• Ads target Cruz on niche “spectrum” issue

• Abbott takes a Tex-Mex stand

DAN PATRICK ON BRIAN HARRISON, AND BUDGET WOES

Until recently, state Rep. Brian Harrison’s disruptions have been contained to the Texas House, where he’s attacked the budget and tried to strip the gavel from the hands of Speaker Dustin Burrows. But yesterday, it became clear he’s attracted the ire of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who seemed a bit ticked off when asked about Harrison’s agitations.

At a press conference, Patrick was asked about Harrison’s public criticisms that the budget, which was passed by the Senate, is not conservative.

“Anyone who says this is not a conservative budget, how is it we ended up with a $40 billion surplus?” Patrick asked, raising his voice. “How is it we ended up with a $24 billion surplus? Because we did not spend all the money. Because we saved money.”

Patrick didn’t name names, but it seems the most powerful official in the legislative process has it out for Harrison.

“So, one person says, ‘I don’t like the budget.’ Maybe that one person just wants to make news,” Patrick continued. “Every Republican senator voted for it, and let me tell you what, I’ve got some damn straight conservative members in the Texas Senate.”

Harrison doubled down in a social media post this morning without naming Patrick. 

“Texans, would you call a budget that funds DEI, liberal gender ideology, and Hollywood... and that grows government and increases spending ... a ‘conservative’ budget?” the Midlothian Republican said. 

Patrick on Thursday also defended the film incentives program, Senate Bill 22. Harrison and others have railed against it as a payout to Hollywood.

While Harrison is the loudest one complaining about the budget, he’s far from the only one. On Monday, Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, voted against advancing the bill out of committee. And on Wednesday, 13 Republicans plus Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos, D-Richardson, voted against the rules of engagement for debating Senate Bill 1.

The rules vote is almost never contentious. The last person to vote against the measure was former Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, in 2019. Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, voted against the floor rules on the supplemental spending bill that year, too. But this time, the naysayers make up a significant chunk of the new class of usual suspects, plus returning members Cain, Harrison, Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth, Tony Tinderholt of Arlington and Steve Toth of Conroe. Freshman Rep. Janis Holt of Silsbee said she intended to vote against it.

“It’s about controlling members,” Cain told The Blast. “I don’t like it.”

Another no-voting Republican said they simply weren’t given time to review the rules.

The rule is nearly identical to what it was last year, when it passed unanimously. The main thing that’s changed is the buildup of opposition to Burrows among the Republicans’ rank and file.

There are also concerns about the calendar. The Calendars Committee teed up the budget before the education package. Because it looks like Republicans finally have the votes to pass an education savings account program, opponents are running out of options to kill the bill.

Some fear Democrats could pass the budget then get out of dodge, breaking quorum to block the Legislature from approving ESAs.

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PATRICK ON LOTTO, PAXTON AND POTENTIAL PROPERTY TAX DEAL

Patrick’s Thursday press conference was wide-ranging. Here are some other points he made.

The Lotto

Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott have each asked the Texas Rangers to launch investigations into the Texas Lottery Commission and the courier services debacle. So, there are two concurrent investigations, but Patrick believes neither will be completed before the end of session. That’s a problem because the Lottery Commission is up for sunset this cycle.

“It’s a lot of fun for a lot of folks, but we cannot renew the Lottery Commission if we can’t trust it, if we can’t look at people in the eye and say to Texas, you can trust the lottery, it’s not corrupt, and you’re going to get a fair deal, and the games are fair,” Patrick said. “If we can’t do that, then we can’t extend it.”

The Senate in February passed legislation to ban courier services for the lottery, Senate Bill 28. The author, Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, also has filed Senate Bill 1988, which would abolish the lottery.

Paxton

The House’s impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last session derailed the $3.3 million settlement between his office and the whistleblowers. The whistleblowers now seek a $6.7 million deal.

“I don’t know about this other deal. I’ll stay out of that one,” Patrick said, “but I do think that the House owes Ken Paxton that backpay.”

Patrick said he doesn’t like the precedent that suspending Paxton during the impeachment proceedings “robbed” him of about $50,000 of his $153,750 annual salary.

Multiple lawmakers have filed legislation dealing with impeachment, including Paxton impeachment manager Jeff Leach, R-Plano. His House Bill 3067 would do what Patrick is asking for, let someone collect their salary throughout their suspension.

The Senate State Affairs Committee yesterday heard Senate Bill 2051 and Senate Joint Resolution 68 from Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, which would overhaul the impeachment process.

Property taxes

We’re a ways away from the final property taxes deal. Last session, Patrick and the Senate held firm that they would increase the homestead exemption and not go the compression-only route that Abbott backed and House Speaker Dade Phelan tagged along on.

But Patrick has a better relationship with new Speaker Dustin Burrows.

“Dustin and I are working on maybe $200,000 exemption for seniors, 65 and older, on their school taxes,” Patrick said, noting that he’s also talked to Abbott about it. That would eliminate the bulk of most seniors’ property taxes, he added.

The current Senate plan would raise the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, with an additional $10,000 boost already written into the law for seniors.

Meanwhile, the House and Burrows have focused their messaging on reducing property taxes for small businesses.

“There’ll be some combination of compression, and then there’ll be some business taxes, so I think we’re actually going to come up with a really good package,” Patrick said.

POTENTIAL “HERRERO AMENDMENT” REPLACEMENT

State Rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, is no longer in the Legislature, and apparently neither is his namesake “Herrero amendment.”

As House members gear up for budget night, Democrats are strategizing how they’ll push back on school vouchers. Some have been on the lookout for an amendment that would keep public dollars out of private schools.

It’s been a repeated feature in the Legislature that served as a trial balloon for how close the House is to passing a voucher bill. However, it would certainly fail now. In its place, Democrats are considering an amendment that would direct education savings account dollars to teacher pay raises if the ESA bill fails to pass.

Democrats supposedly have the votes for it with enough Republicans, but Democrats fear that such an amendment would give Gov. Greg Abbott and House leadership a “hunting list” of Republicans to keep in line when they take up the education package a little while later.

Republicans have the votes to pass Senate Bill 2, so Democrats at this point hope to temper the bill by working with amicable Republicans on something more acceptable for Democrats. But asking those Republicans for a favor on the nuevo Herrero amendment might show their hands too early, and for language that likely will become irrelevant.

Democrats have until 9 a.m. on Monday, the budget amendment filing deadline, to decide their course of action.

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TEXAS CENTRAL HEARING GOES OFF THE RAILS

The House Transportation Committee met yesterday morning to consider legislation asking for an annual progress report on the DFW-Houston high speed rail plan. But after the hearing went about as poorly as it possibly could for Texas Central, the committee walked away with a unanimous agreement to go ahead and subpoena the documents.

Andy Jent, dispatched to Austin by the owners to defend the project, came off to committee members as evasive, defensive and confrontational. He argued that publishing the details requested in Rep. Cody Harris’ House Bill 2003 could help their competitors and hurt their ability to raise money. Jent assured members that Texas Central wouldn’t move forward without a financially feasible plan. But the committee was having none of it.

Republican freshman Rep. Mitch Little, an attorney from Lewisville, led the charge.

“The investors in that project will be disclosed all of the information in Representative Harris’ bill, but you don’t want to disclose it to Texans,” Little said.

“It’s a private company, sir,” Jent said, “And a private company, where we sit today, the information that’s being sought is not appropriate.”

The bill asks for 11 answers, like the proposed method of financing, balance sheet, construction costs and the proposed route. Texas Central has some of the requested items, but things like the financing method are still a big “I dunno.”

“I’ve been listening to you not answer questions and duck, and I don’t think it’s right,” said freshman Republican Rep. Pat Curry, whose Waco-based district is about 40 miles from the proposed line. “What are you hiding? Eleven questions. What is it that you’re hiding? Why do you not believe in transparency?”

At one point, freshman Republican Rep. Marc LaHood, who would love the rail plan to eventually connect to his hometown, San Antonio, said he was trying not to lose his temper.

“I think it’s been made abundantly clear why this bill is necessary,” Harris said in his brief closing remarks.

But before Harris even returned to the stand, Little requested the committee subpoena Texas Central for the items outlined in Harris’ bill and demand their corporate representative testify. That request was unanimously granted.

The subpoena itself is still in the works.

“We don’t need a bill,” Little said. “We can just obtain this information by subpoena right now if we wanted to.”

ADS TARGET CRUZ ON NICHE “SPECTRUM” ISSUE

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was just up for reelection, but he’s the subject of an ad campaign pressuring him to cut the cord on handing certain telecommunication frequencies to private companies.

Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, wants the federal government to do a “spectrum auction,” which he says supports national security while boosting economic growth.

Last week, Cruz sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard asking her to investigate an “influence” campaign “orchestrated” by the Chinese Communist Party with the help of Chinese technology company Huawei and others.

Cruz said the Commerce Committee will “move forward on spectrum” when the Senate takes up budget reconciliation. The Senate is nearing that point, with a round of budget-related votes today.

As the Senate was about to embark on its budget extravaganza, one Fox News viewer in Virginia Beach told The Blast they saw an ad during Hannity on Tuesday that pressures Cruz to drop the effort.

“Don’t hand spectrum to big woke wireless,” says the ad, which includes his Russell Senate Office Building phone number. “Fight to put America first.”

The ad was paid for by a group called “DEFEND US.”

ABBOTT TAKES A TEX-MEX STAND

Don’t make Gov. Greg Abbott choose his favorite child — er, Tex-Mex restaurant. Talking to a friendly crowd at a Federalist Society event at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law on Thursday, Abbott was suddenly put in the hot seat, asked to recommend just one Tex-Mex restaurant. Abbott hemmed and hawed before agreeing to walk through his thinking on this divisive issue.

“I like going for the food, but I like going for the fun, also. I like going with a bunch of people, kind of a party environment. You’re going to have a beer, you’re going to have a margarita, you’re going to be enjoying yourself,” said the governor of the second-largest state in the country.

“You’re not going there to be quiet, you’re not going there to study, for God’s sake,” he said to the crowd, which was primarily students. “Think Friday night, think after an exam, whatever the case may be, you’re going for fun.”

“Add to that some good food, and all that boils down to one place that stands out above others, and that’s Matt’s El Rancho,” he finally concluded, claiming that the Bob Armstrong dip is the “eighth wonder of the world.”

You heard it here first: In Austin restaurants, as in legal theory, Abbott remains an originalist.

— Eleanor Klibanoff

Committee highlights next week:

• The House Public Health Committee will take up the Life of the Mother Act (House Bill 44) and 10 other bills when it convenes at 8 a.m. on Monday.

• The House State Affairs Committee will meet at 8 a.m. on Monday to take up a pair of hemp bills, House Bill 28 on regulating consumable THC and Senate Bill 3 on banning consumable THC. Only one approach can win …

• Former Speaker Dade Phelan and Rep. Brian Harrison became Republican joint authors last week on a bill by Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, to decriminalize “homosexual conduct,” a Class C misdemeanor. The measure, House Bill 1738, is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday following the House’s floor session.

• The House State Affairs Committee will meet at 8 a.m. on Wednesday to hear from ERCOT and take up a slew of bills, including a pair of Phelan’s campaign finance measures. House Bill 3592, the one placing caps on out-of-state contributions, has a Senate companion filed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick ally Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston.

View the full list of upcoming committee notices here and here.

Floor highlights next week:

• Patrick’s priority film incentive program, Senate Bill 22, was placed on the intent calendar for Monday. The Senate could take it up as soon as Tuesday.

• It’s DOGE day in the House on Tuesday.

• Budget night will be Thursday.

View the House and Senate floor calendars here and here.

The Senate will convene at 2 p.m. on Monday.
The House will convene at 3 p.m. on Monday.

• Outgoing Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, a former state representative and senator, was in both chambers yesterday to be honored for his service to the A&M System.

• Texas GOP Chair Abraham George was in the Capitol yesterday in support of Senate Bill 240, which would ban transgender women from women’s restrooms on government property.

TX-SEN: The National Border Patrol Council endorsed U.S. Sen. John Cornyn yesterday ahead of a looming primary fight. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Houston Republican who is reportedly considering running against Cornyn, announced that he raised $1.55 million in Q1 of this year.

Comptroller: Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick announced support from some heavy-hitting GOP donors, including Javaid Anwar, Brint Ryan and Kelcy Warren. Buried in the list of well over 100 names is former state Rep. Glenn Rogers, R-Graford.

TX-18: Gov. Greg Abbott says he didn’t quickly call a special election because Harris County hasn’t proven that it can hold one on short notice. “Had I called that very quickly, it could have led to a failure in that election, just like Harris County has failed in other elections,” Abbott told Nexstar. “They need to have adequate time to operate a fair and accurate election, not a crazy election, like what they’ve conducted in the past.” He said he’ll be announcing the special election soon.

TX-28: Republican Jay Furman has launched a campaign to rematch U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo. Cuellar became a late GOP target in 2024, but the National Republican Congressional Committee is attacking him early after his district swung to the right. Furman wasn’t able to touch Cuellar’s spending levels last cycle.

• Americans for Prosperity-Texas has launched a seven-figure digital and radio ad buy in the districts of Democratic U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen focusing on extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts.

• The Associated Press reported that the Biden Department of Justice declined to charge Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in its corruption investigation.

• According to Axios, now-U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wanted to set up a meeting with Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller as Kennedy’s team was looking to unite behind an ag pick for incoming President Donald Trump. Kennedy reportedly emailed his adviser saying he wanted to set up a meeting with Miller. “Never heard back from her. Still waiting on a call back,” Miller told Axios. “Kinda disappointing, actually.” Asked about the story by The Blast, Miller said he wasn’t familiar with it.

“Cruz says a trade war would cost jobs, spur prices and be terrible for Texas” by Katharine Wilson of The Texas Tribune

“Ken Paxton’s legal woes are lifting, clearing a path for a likely Senate run” by Kayla Guo of The Texas Tribune

“In election-year reversal, San Antonio will direct city money to fund abortion travel after all” by Andrea Drusch of the San Antonio Report

“Why Greg Abbott let Elon Musk interrupt his Valentine’s Day dinner with his wife” by Jeremy Wallace of the Houston Chronicle

“Sources: Former Texas Lottery director reportedly missing” by Brandon Waltens of Texas Scorecard

Do you or someone in your office have a birthday you’d like mentioned? Email us.

(April 4) Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
(April 4) Former state Rep. John Raney, R-Bryan

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