- Patrick and Burrows Continue Show of Unity and Commitment to Conservative Results
- Brian Harrison No-Shows Hearing on His Own Bill, Then Plays Victim
- Harris County Taxpayers Have Paid Over $14.1 Million to Outside Lawyers Since 2023
Patrick and Burrows Continue Show of Unity and Commitment to Conservative Results
Despite tension between Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and previous Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives, current Speaker Dustin Burrows has enjoyed a far warmer relationship with Patrick than his predecessors.
The show of unity between Burrows and Patrick continued this week, with Patrick tweeting on Thursday that his relationship with Burrows “is light-years beyond any other speaker I’ve worked with over the last decade.” Patrick also addressed concerns raised by some that the House was not moving quickly enough on some bills.
“I had a great dinner with the Speaker last night. Our relationship is light-years beyond any other speaker I’ve worked with over the last decade. It was just the two of us and our 2 chiefs of staff. We still have a lot of work to do and the clock is ticking, but we are on a positive path. We went through both chambers’ priority bills and have set forth a plan.
Message to House & Senate members: Speaker @Burrows4TX and I are working well together. With your hard work in both chambers and teamwork, this can be the most successful and conservative session ever. Let’s all work together and get our work done on time,” said Patrick.
Burrows responded to Patrick’s tweet by praising Patrick’s “collaboration and steady communication”, adding that “the House and Senate are working well together” and echoing Patrick’s optimism for a successful conservative session.
“Couldn’t agree more. We had a very productive evening, and I appreciate @LtGovTX Patrick taking the time. We discussed the state of play in both chambers, the progress of our respective legislative priorities, and what lies ahead in the final weeks of session. I appreciate the Lt. Gov’s collaboration and steady communication thus far—the House and Senate are working well together, and we both believe there will be much to show for it come Sine Die,” replied Burrows.
Burrows and Patrick also appear to be working well with Governor Greg Abbott. At a bill signing ceremony on Wednesday for Senate Bill 14, the Texas DOGE bill, Abbott began the ceremony by thanking Patrick and Burrows “for their leadership in general about everything they’re doing in their respective chambers.”
Brian Harrison No-Shows Hearing on His Own Bill, Then Plays Victim
House Bill 872 by State Representative Brian Harrison was scheduled to be heard by the Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee on Wednesday. However, when Chairman Jeff Leach called up Harrison to explain his bill, Harrison was absent from the hearing and had not made arrangements to have another lawmaker lay out the bill on his behalf.
Harrison blamed his absence on his presence in another committee hearing and described Leach’s actions on calling up his bill a “cheap stunt.” However, it is common for Texas House members to have dueling obligations at this state of the legislative session, and lawmakers will frequently step away from one hearing to attend another one or make arrangements with one of their colleagues to present a bill at a committee hearing on their behalf. Harrison seemingly did neither.
“Stunned that Mr. Harrison – of all people – didn’t bother to show up for his bill hearing after specifically requesting me to schedule it for him. I’ve been Chairman of this Committee for four sessions now. I’ve heard hundreds and hundreds of bills during that time. And I have never — not once — seen a member just not show up.
And if you have a conflict, you let the Chairman know or you ask another legislator to lay it out for you. Which Mr. Harrison failed to have the courtesy or wisdom to do,” wrote Leach in a tweet responding to the Quorum Report’s Scott Braddock reporting on Harrison’s absence from the hearing.
In a follow-up tweet, Leach confirmed Braddock’s reporting that Harrison had declined Leach’s offer to bring the bill back up at the hearing and instead agreed to have it rescheduled. HB 872 is now scheduled to be heard by the committee on April 30.
Harrison, a frequent critic of Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows in media interviews and social media posts, has drawn the ire of other Burrows critics for engaging in “stunts” they describe as self-serving and unhelpful.
“Representative Harrison stood for himself,” said State Representative Tony Tinderholt after Harrison’s attempt to remove Burrows as Speaker failed by a 141-2 vote earlier this month. Four other House members placed a statement in the House Journal that called out “political stunts some members use to position themselves for higher office.”
Harris County Taxpayers Have Paid Over $14.1 Million to Outside Lawyers Since 2023
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has emerged as one of the frontrunners to succeed the late Sylvester Turner to represent Congressional District 18 in the Houston area.
Some have raised questions about Menefee’s management of the County Attorney’s office since assuming the role in 2021, with many concerns centered around using outside lawyers to represent or advise Harris County in various legal matters.
According to his biography on the Harris County Attorney’s Office website, Menefee “manages an office of 250+ attorneys and staff who represent the county, its 60 elected officials, and its 18,000+ employees in all civil matters and lawsuits.”
Despite having an office that rivals the size of some of the largest law firms in the state, Harris County has outsourced a significant amount of legal work to outside law firms.
In response to an open records request, the Harris County Attorney’s Office provided data showing that Harris County taxpayers had paid over $14.1 million to 40 outside law firms since January 1, 2023.
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