The Blast - March 26, 2025

50 days for the House to consider House legislation on 2nd reading
68 days until sine die

In Today’s Blast

• Big Three vibes: good

• Taxpayer-funded lobbying under the gun

• Cornyn, Cruz, Castro among most effective lawmakers

• Cornyn’s reelection launch

BIG THREE VIBES: GOOD

Things came full circle yesterday for your lead Blast writer and Texas’s “Big Three.”

Kicking off the three’s press conference yesterday about education savings accounts, Gov. Greg Abbott noted it was the first time the state’s governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker have shared a policy-based joint press conference since the 2019 general session, when Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and then-Speaker Dennis Bonnen met at the Governor’s Mansion to tout a deal on tax relief and school finance.

That so happened to be your lead Blast writer’s first time covering an Abbott presser back when he was an intern at the Austin American-Statesman.

We all know that Patrick and former Speaker Dade Phelan did not get along, so that may be why Patrick’s comments about new Speaker Dustin Burrows came off as particularly effusive.

Burrows succeeded Phelan as House leadership’s choice for speaker after Phelan dropped out of the race in December. Patrick helped push out several House members, replacing them with members who opposed Phelan and continue to resist Burrows. Yet, the two seem to be getting along.

“I think we’re on the cusp of, actually, the greatest session in Texas history,” Patrick said. “I’ve never had a better working relationship with a speaker. We’re aligned on so many issues.”

Burrows didn’t secure the gavel until the first day of session, delaying speaker-to-member meetings, then delaying committee assignments. Patrick had previously criticized Phelan for slow rolling bills, and his statements earlier this session were guarded about Burrows. But yesterday, Patrick waved away concerns that the House got off to a slow start.

“I know that it’s his first year, it’s taken him a few extra weeks to get his feet on the ground, to get set up, but I expect to see a flurry of great bills, including school choice, to come out of the Texas House,” Patrick said.

Burrows also commended the House, Senate and governor’s “working relationship.”

Is it fair to say the boys are back?

As for updates, Burrows got more specific than what House Public Education Committee Chair Brad Buckley told The Blast last week, that the committee will pass out both bills early next week. It will be on the House floor “very soon thereafter,” said Burrows.

Burrows also expects it to pass with more members than there are coauthors. Rep. Liz Campos of San Antonio yesterday appeared to be the first Democrat to come out in favor of vouchers in Texas. However, that was a clerical error.

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TAXPAYER-FUNDED LOBBYING UNDER THE GUN

The Texas Public Policy Foundation says local governments spent as much as $98.6 million on lobbyists in 2023, up from $75 million in 2021. That comes as many around the Capitol believe this will be the session when the Legislature finally bans “taxpayer-funded lobbying.”

TPPF, a steadfast opponent of the practice, analyzed Texas Ethics Commission reports from cities, counties, school districts and special districts. The $98.6 million and $75 million numbers are up from $41 million in 2017, when TPPF first began tracking spending.

James Quintero, policy director of TPPF’s Taxpayer Protection Project, told The Blast it’s possible that jurisdictions may have spent more in 2023 thanks to the record four special sessions, in addition to the regular session. Hot-button issues were property taxes and education savings accounts.

Quintero didn’t observe much change related to the 2021 pandemic session. However, a lot of the pandemic aid is expiring this year, which would cut off a secondary funding source for cities.

“It’s this legislative session that they’re really going to want to flood the Capitol with taxpayer-funded lobbyists,” Quintero said, so they won’t have to cut back expenses. For example, Houston is facing a $330 million deficit in 2026, according to Houston Public Media.

The House has not taken up either of the proposed bans on taxpayer-funded lobbying filed in that chamber. Frisco Rep. Jared Patterson’s House Bill 4860 hasn’t been referred to a committee while freshman and anti-Dustin Burrows Fort Worth Rep. Mike Olcott’s House Bill 3257 was referred last week to the House State Affairs Committee.

The Senate last week passed Senate Bill 19, but not before Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, led Democrats and six other Republicans on an amendment that removed proposed lobbyist bans regarding nonprofit associations of political subdivisions.

The Republican Party of Texas condemned the changes in a resolution yesterday, accusing the Senate of gutting the bill and undermining one of the party’s planks.

In a 2021 memo to constituents, Nichols seemed to suggest that banning associations like the Texas Municipal League and the Texas Association of Counties from hiring lobbyists on behalf of their clients could level the playing field between urban areas and rural areas, which lack the tax base to hire lobbyists individually.

Now that the Senate has tweaked its original bill, as sanctioned by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the next step will be the House’s turn to attempt to pass the bill. The Blast caught up with Patrick briefly after the Big Three news conference yesterday.

“You saw the bill I wanted,” Patrick said. “People have the right to amend bills, and we’ll see what the House does.”

CORNYN, CRUZ, CASTRO AMONG MOST EFFECTIVE LAWMAKERS

Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and Rep. Joaquin Castro are among the most effective members of the 2023-24 Congress, according to a new report.

Cornyn was the No. 1 and Cruz the No. 3 most effective Senate Republicans, according to an analysis from the University of Virginia’s Center for Effective Lawmaking. Castro, of San Antonio, was the top House Democrat.

The report also noted that the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, was tied for the second-longest streak of “exceeding expectations” when accounting for seniority, majority party membership or whether the lawmaker is a committee chair.

Despite all three of Cornyn, Cruz and Castro serving in the minority of their respective chambers last Congress, they were also some of the most effective members overall. Cornyn was the No. 2 senator overall after Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, and Cruz was the No. 5 senator. Castro similarly cracked the top five in the House.

Across the entire Senate, Cornyn was the most successful at getting his legislation added to other bills, with 12 additions. Cruz was tied for fifth with three additions. Castro was second in the House with 10 additions. That put him behind only Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, with 12 additions, and well ahead of then-Rules Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, and Rep. French Hill, R-Arkansas, with four additions each.

During Cruz’s 2024 reelection campaign, the junior senator touted his ability to work across the aisle while his Democratic challenger, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, called that “laughable” in an interview with the Tribune.

However, the Center for Effective Lawmaking’s report qualifies Cruz’s entrance into the top 10 Republicans.

“The fact that Sen. Cruz emerged as the third-most effective lawmaker in the Republican Party in the same Congress that he was running for reelection is consistent with a broader pattern that has been established wherein senators who are up for reelection are more effective lawmakers in comparison to those congresses when they are not in cycle,” according to the report.

Cornyn, meanwhile, achieved the top spot two sessions in a row — while not headed into a reelection cycle. Allred would have a tougher time making the bipartisanship argument against Cornyn, should Allred run again. That also assumes Cornyn wins the Republican nomination again.

The report credits Cornyn with getting seven of his 107 introduced bills signed into law, in addition to his 12 bill additions, and pegged him as the second-most effective senator overall. His standalone bills included the Improving Access to Our Courts Act and the Victims’ VOICES Act while the National Defense Authorization Act incorporated several of his standalone measures.

Castro only had one of his sponsored bills pass the House, and it didn’t become law. However, the report notes his 10 additions.

“His approach of working behind the scenes — to strike compromises and insert his bill language in other legislative vehicles — shows further opportunities for minority-party lawmakers to succeed in Congress,” according to the report.

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CORNYN’S REELECTION LAUNCH

Cornyn “officially” officially launched his reelection campaign today with a video saying that he has had President Donald Trump’s back.

Cornyn touts that he was the Senate Republican whip during Trump’s first term, helping the president get the votes to pass his biggest wins. Cornyn says he wants “President Trump and I to pick up where we left off.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota endorsed Cornyn shortly after his official campaign launch. Thune beat out Cornyn a few months back for the majority leader role. That early endorsement is a sign that Cornyn will have national support in his campaign.

Cornyn’s first step will be to secure the Republican nomination. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said he is considering challenging Cornyn and has made a number of trips to Washington in recent months to be there for some of Trump’s biggest moments.

“Are you delusional?” Paxton posted in response to Cornyn. “You’ve constantly turned your back on Texans and President Trump, including trying to stop his campaign in 2024 and saying his ‘time has passed him by,’ ” Paxton said, referring to Cornyn’s early statements when Trump announced he was running for office. 

“I think President Trump’s time has passed him by,” Cornyn said in 2023. “I don’t think President Trump understands that when you run in a general election, you have to appeal to voters beyond your base.”

Now, Cornyn has been praising Trump at every opportunity.

“President Trump needs a partner who is battle-tested,” Cornyn says.

If Cornyn secures the Republican nomination, the general election will still be a tough fight. If Democrats hope to retake the Senate, Texas is one of the most likely places where they could secure their 51st senator.

Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is considering a run after his loss in November to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Cornyn responded to the Allred story on social media with a “Come and take it” shot across the bow — only, he misfired in his first post with a cartoon cannon shooting rainbow fireworks.

• The Senate unanimously passed its proposed budget, Senate Bill 1, with no amendments yesterday. The House has already referred it to the Appropriations Committee.

• The Senate today passed Senate Bill 24, regarding “educating Texas students on the horrors of communism.”

Upcoming committee highlights:

• A big one: The Senate State Affairs Committee will meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow to take up several important measures, including three on abortion policy:

  • Senate Bill 31, Sen. Bryan Hughes’ “Life of the Mother Act”

  • Senate Bill 33, Sen. Donna Campbell’s bill to stop “taxpayer-funded abortion travel”

  • Senate Bill 2880, Hughes’ bill to ban the sale of abortion-inducing drugs.

• Additionally, the Senate State Affairs Committee will look at judicial misconduct (Senate Joint Resolution 27), legislative veto overrides (Senate Joint Resolution 39) and emergency powers of the three branches (Senate Joint Resolution 40).

• The House Elections Committee will meet when the House wraps tomorrow to consider six bills, including a proposal to ban ranked choice voting, Rep. Briscoe Cain’s House Bill 817.

• The House Appropriations Committee will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday to take up the Senate’s budget and the House’s supplemental funding bill, House Bill 500.

View the list of upcoming meeting notices here and here.

The House and Senate will convene at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

• Rep. Briscoe Cain’s House Bill 274 to create the “District of Austin” was unanimously voted down in the House State Affairs Committee today. After the vote, former Speaker Dade Phelan joked, “Can you put that on Local?”

TDP chair: The Texas Democratic Party SDEC will meet on Saturday and elect their next chair.

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• U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, is being criticized for calling Gov. Greg Abbott “Governor Hot Wheels” during a speech over the weekend. Democrats “have no vision, no policy. They have nothing to sell but hate,” Abbott responded last night to Fox News’ Sean Hannity. Crockett claims she was talking about his migrant busing policies, not the fact that he uses a wheelchair.

“Gov. Greg Abbott showing no rush to replace late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner” by Kayla Guo of The Texas Tribune

“Rep. Wesley Hunt praised in statewide ads as Cornyn kicks off reelection campaign” by Matthew Choi of The Texas Tribune

“‘Not a valid excuse’: Tensions mount over possible House committee on Mexican drug cartels” by Elizabeth Elkind of Fox News

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