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by Scott Farkus
Thu Mar 28, 2019 8:22 pm
Forum: 2019 Texas Legislative Session
Topic: Speaker Bonnen's betrayal of Texas gun-owners
Replies: 159
Views: 77657

Re: Speaker Bonnen's betrayal of Texas gun-owners

ralewis wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2019 1:08 pmI grew up in PA and have only been in TX for 20 years. I can't quite wrap my head around the rationale of appointing a minority party Chair to a committee. Was this to prevent Republicans from having to vote on potentially uncomfortable pro-gun legislation or is there some other Texas political tradition being observed?
I don't get it either. Apparently it has to do with the way the speaker is elected. Republicans have held actual or near supermajorities for a quarter century - a Democrat should never even sniff power in the Lege, much less hold a committee chair.

I have to quit keeping up with this thread, it makes me too angry.
by Scott Farkus
Thu Jan 24, 2019 10:57 pm
Forum: 2019 Texas Legislative Session
Topic: Speaker Bonnen's betrayal of Texas gun-owners
Replies: 159
Views: 77657

Re: Speaker Bonnen's betrayal of Texas gun-owners

SewTexas wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:13 pm as for "why are certain people chairs...?"
my husband says that apparently in Texas the chairmanship goes to the most senior person in the committee, personally I would say that it should go to the most senior person in the majority, but ...well, that's me....
I absolutely agree. What's the point of having a political party if not this at the very least? And again, it's not like the Republicans just barely hold a one or two seat majority - they've had basically 2/3 of the House for like 15 or 20 years. It's ridiculous.

I don't know one way or the other about the seniority thing but I looked up Nevarez and he's only been a state rep since 2013. So if five years is the most senior member of a committee, I don't know what to think.
by Scott Farkus
Thu Jan 24, 2019 5:54 pm
Forum: 2019 Texas Legislative Session
Topic: Speaker Bonnen's betrayal of Texas gun-owners
Replies: 159
Views: 77657

Re: Speaker Bonnen's betrayal of Texas gun-owners

Soccerdad1995 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:51 am I'm having a hard time understanding why any committee chairs are members of the minority party. Is this the way that things are traditionally done in the Texas house? I believe at the federal level, committee chairs are all members of the majority party (currently democrats for the House).

Can someone enlighten me on whether we typically have Democratic committee chairs appointed in a Republican majority state House, and Republican committee chairs appointed in a Democratic majority state House?
Cosigned. I've never understood why in a state where the GOP has controlled both houses of the Legislature by overwhelming margins for (what seems like) decades, the minority party even gets to sniff a committee chair position.

In fairness, I'm pretty fed up with "bipartisanship" and playing nice with the other side, so I want the GOP to wreck shop and take no prisoners, but having the majority party chair all committees doesn't seem a particularly egregious spoil to me.

Return to “Speaker Bonnen's betrayal of Texas gun-owners”