Welcome back to the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s Advocate. The Advocate debuted during the last legislative session in 2015 and quickly emerged as a go-to source of current information about the major issues being debated in Austin that impact the San Antonio business community.
Several committees of Chamber volunteers have worked throughout the legislative interim to prepare the Chamber’s 2017 Legislative Agenda. The committees heard from several members of our legislative delegation, other key leaders in the community and subject matter experts in areas ranging from education to transportation to economic development. The Board of Directors of the Chamber finalized and adopted the Agenda on July 28, 2016.
One of the great myths of the Texas Legislature is that it only meets every odd-numbered year for 140 days. While that is technically correct (unless the Governor calls a Special Session), the fact is that governing Texas has become too complex, and the budget too big (in excess of $100 billion per year) for everyone to “go away” for a year and half and then just show back up in Austin when the Session starts.
In fact, over the course of the past year, legislative committees have considered more than 200 interim charges, the Texas Sunset Commission has considered the workings of several state agencies such as the Texas Railroad Commission, and the Legislative Budget Board has exercised its broad budget authority to make needed adjustments when the legislature is not in session. Much of the legislation and even budget decisions that are considered during a legislative session are now vetted and resolved during the legislative interim. As a result, the Chamber staff and its committees have been working right alongside the legislature and its committees to identify, understand and better define San Antonio’s needs and interests as we all prepare for the 2017 legislative session.
The Advocate will detail several of the issues the Chamber is focused on in coming weeks and throughout the legislative session.
All 150 members of the Texas House are on the ballot every two years whereas Senators serve staggered four-year terms. So far, we know that there will be at least 23 new faces in the Texas House next January, as 17 members retired or ran for a different office, and six members lost their Primary races. There are no more than 10 races in November where an incumbent faces a stiff challenge and could lose. The Senate is a simpler picture, where three of the 31 Senators retired, and their likely successors face no meaningful opposition in November.
There will be very little change in the partisan composition of the House or the Senate, with the Republicans maintaining a large majority in both bodies. There will also be little net change in the number of “Tea Party” Republicans in either body despite some spirited races in March Primaries. What all this means is that the governing majorities in the “moderate” House and the “conservative” Senate, led by Speaker Straus and Lt. Governor Patrick respectively, are likely to continue to struggle to find common ground on some high profile issues.
Against this backdrop, the San Antonio delegation is much younger in seniority than it has been in many years as long-serving members like Leticia Van de Putte, Trey Martinez Fisher and Ruth Jones McClendon have left. The Dean of the San Antonio House delegation is now Roland Gutierrez who has served his district since winning a special election in May 2008. Of course, it certainly helps that the Speaker of the Texas House, San Antonian Joe Straus, is widely expected to easily win re-election to a fifth term in that post. (Straus was originally elected to the House in 2005.)
Thank you for reading the Advocate, and please provide us feedback as we gear up for 2017!
