SPEAKER OF THE TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APPOINTS COMMITTEES
On January 8, 2013, the 83rd Texas Legislative Session officially began. Over the past several weeks the Texas House of Representatives has been organizing and preparing for our committee assignments. On January 31, 2013, the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives released our committee assignments for the 83rd Texas Legislative session.
For the third session, I have again received the distinct honor and privilege to be part of the Speaker’s leadership team. Speaker Joe Straus has again appointed me to serve as Chairman of the Calendars Committee. In addition to serving as the Chairman of Calendars, the Speaker appointed me to the County Affairs, General Investigating and Ethics, Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence and Redistricting Committees. These committee assignments not only represent great committee assignments for me but also for South Texas and District 32.
As many of you may know, the House Calendars committee serves a very important role in the Texas House during the legislative session. The House Calendars Committee is tasked with the organization of bills as they are sent to the House Floor. This procedure is required due to the volume of bills that are received from the other House committees. The organization of the house calendar includes deciding on the order of which bills go before the House floor for debate and voting.
During the 82nd Legislative Session, I served on the House Redistricting committee which oversaw the redrawing of Congressional, Texas Senate, Texas House and State Board of Education seats following the 2010 census release. Being reappointed to the Redistricting committee during the 83rd Legislative Session is a great appointment not just for me but for the Coastal Bend because it allows us to continue to be directly involved in this extremely important process.
In 2009, upon my return to the Texas Legislature I had the honor to be appointed to serve as Chairman of the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence committee. Again, I have been appointed to serve as a member of the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence committee. The Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence committee has jurisdiction over all matters relating to the civil laws of the state and of the state’s judicial system. The committee also has jurisdiction over the following state agencies: the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeals, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System, the State Law Library, the Texas Judicial Council, the Guardianship Certification Board, the Office of the Attorney General, the Court Reporters Certification Board, the Board of Law Examiners, the State Bar of Texas, and the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Another committee that I have been reappointed to serve on is the General Investigating and Ethics committee. While the General Investigating and Ethics committee is one of the smallest in the House, but has an extremely important role and function. This committee has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the conduct of and ethical standards applicable to local and state government officers and employees.
The final committee which I was appointed to is the County Affairs committee. This committee has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to; counties, including but not limited to their organization, creation, boundaries, government, and finance and the compensation and duties of their officers and employees. This is a great committee assignment for the Coastal Bend and South Texas as a whole. If you would like to see the make-up of the other standing committees, go to Committees for a complete list.
If you have questions or comments regarding any of the committee assignments mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. 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
