TEXAS — Nearly two dozen GOP state lawmakers and candidates released a list of demands for the next Texas House speaker.

What You Need To Know

  • Nearly two dozen GOP state lawmakers and candidates released a “Contract with Texas” and are advocating for further limiting Democratic influence in the House by denying them committee chairmanships and prioritizing Republican-led bills

  • The people who signed on to the contract have accused current House Speaker Dade Phelan of handing too much power to the Democratic minority

  • The list of demands also includes limiting the speaker to two terms and prohibiting them from distributing political funds

  • Republicans currently do not have a two-thirds majority in the House, which is required to pass items such as the budget and constitutional amendments. Democrats are also needed for a quorum in order for the House to conduct business

They’re calling it a “Contract with Texas” and are advocating for further limiting Democratic influence in the House by denying them committee chairmanships and prioritizing Republican-led bills. It’s an attack on the current Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, who’s defended the tradition, saying it keeps the House from being in a state of gridlock and facilitates bipartisan cooperation. He’s also argued no GOP priorities have failed because of Democrats chairing committees. 

The people who signed on to the contract have accused Phelan of handing too much power to the Democratic minority.

“Texas voters spoke clearly. They spoke very clearly in last month’s primary elections,” Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, said in an interview on Capital Tonight. “They want Republican leadership. They deserve bold conservative leadership and it’s time we give that to them. One of the first things that means, and one of the first things we do, is we start by defeating the failed liberal speaker, Dade Phelan.” 

The March 5 primary saw nine House GOP incumbents lose outright. Eight others, including Phelan, were forced into May runoffs. Phelan already has one challenger for the speakership if he survives the runoff. He did not comment on the contract.

The list of demands also includes limiting the speaker to two terms and prohibiting them from distributing political funds. Phelan has spent millions of dollars from his campaign account over the last two cycles to defend GOP allies against primary challengers. 

The “contract” also calls on the next House speaker to “only solicit support” from Republican members — effectively removing Democrats from the process of picking the speaker. 

Republicans currently do not have a two-thirds majority in the House, which is required to pass items such as the budget and constitutional amendments. Democrats are also needed for a quorum in order for the House to conduct business. 

When asked why Democrats would even show up if they’re shut out, Harrison argued they show up in other states and Washington, D.C. when they are the minority. 

“We act in Texas. It’s so bizarre. If you weren’t in Texas, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he said. “The Texas House is the only legislative body in America that does something this swampy, this underhanded, this cynical.” 

“That’s just patently false,” said Matt Angle, Democratic strategist and head of the Lone Star Project. “The truth of the matter is in states where you have partisan control, the minority has rights. They have rights in which they can name their own committee people. They can name their own ranking members. They have a staff. All of the things you don’t have in Texas and what you have in Texas instead, is an effort by the speaker to include the minority through committee leadership.”