Committees Have Been Assigned: Coastal Bend Is Well Represented
The 84th Texas Legislative Session is now underway and last week the Texas House of Representatives committees were assigned by Speaker Joe Straus. It is a privilege to be able to serve you in the Texas Legislature as your state representative. This session, there will be a long list of topics that we will cover and the committee assignments will play an important role in representing District 32 and the Coastal Bend. Last week, the Speaker appointed me as the Chairman of the House Calendars Committee, and as Vice Chairman of the Urban Affairs Committee. I will also serve on the Criminal Jurisprudence, General Investigating and Ethics, and the Redistricting committees.
I wanted to take this opportunity to feature a breakdown of the committees that I will be serving on as defined by the House 84th Texas Legislative rules:
CALENDARS (PROCEDURAL): The committee shall have 15 members, with jurisdiction over: (1) the placement of bills and resolutions on appropriate calendars, except those within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules and Resolutions; (2) the determination of priorities and proposal of rules for floor consideration of such bills and resolutions; and (3) all other matters concerning the calendar system and the expediting of the business of the house as may be assigned by the speaker.
URBAN AFFAIRS: The committee shall have seven members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: (1) municipalities, including their creation, organization, powers, government, and finance, and the compensation and duties of their officers and employees; (2) home-rule municipalities, their relationship to the state, and their powers, authority, and limitations; (3) the creation or change of metropolitan areas and the form of government under which those areas operate; (4) problems and issues particularly affecting metropolitan areas of the state; (5) other units of local government not otherwise assigned by these rules to other standing committees; (6) establishing districts for the election of governing bodies of municipalities; (7) land use regulation by municipalities; and (8) the following state agencies: the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the Texas Commission on Fire Protection.
CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE: The committee shall have seven members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: (1) criminal law, prohibitions, standards, and penalties; (2) probation and parole; (3) criminal procedure in the courts of Texas; (4) revision or amendment of the Penal Code; and (5) the following state agencies: the Office of State Prosecuting Attorney and the Texas State Council for Interstate Adult Offender Supervision.
GENERAL INVESTIGATING AND ETHICS (PROCEDURAL): (a) The committee shall have seven members of the house appointed by the speaker. The speaker shall appoint the chair and the vice-chair of the committee. (b) The committee has all the powers and duties of a general investigating committee and shall operate as the general investigating committee of the house according to the procedures prescribed by Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government Code, and the rules of the house, as applicable. (c) The committee may investigate a matter related to the misconduct, malfeasance, misfeasance, abuse of office, or incompetency of an individual or officer under Chapter 665, Government Code. The committee has all the powers and duties conferred by that chapter for the purpose of conducting the investigation, including the authority to propose articles of impeachment. (d) The committee has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the conduct of and ethical standards applicable to state and local government officers and employees, including individuals appointed to offices of the executive branch of state government for the purpose of ensuring that an appointed officer is acting in the best interests of the State of Texas. (e) The committee has jurisdiction over the operation of, including transparency in the reporting of financial transactions by, agencies of the judicial and executive branches of state government and affiliated entities or foundations.
REDISTRICTING (PROCEDURAL): The committee shall have nine members, with jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to: (1) legislative districts, both house and senate, and any changes or amendments; (2) congressional districts, their creation, and any changes or amendments; (3) establishing districts for the election of judicial officers or of governing bodies or representatives of political subdivisions or state agencies as required by law; and preparations for the redistricting process.
If you would like to follow the Texas House and learn more information on news, committees or other aspects of the legislative body, you can access its website at Texas House of Representatives.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this week’s article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. Please always feel free to contact my office if you have any questions or issues regarding a Texas state agency, or if you would like to contact my office regarding constituent services. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter currently represents Part of Nueces County. He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
