May 05, 2025
89th Legislative Session Review: New House Leader, Rule Changes and a Productive Session for TXCPA
By Kenneth Besserman, J.D., LL.M., Director of Government Affairs and Special Counsel
The 89th session of the Texas Legislature began on January 14, 2025, with a momentous vote by the House of Representatives on a new Speaker of the House. Former Speaker Dade Phelan, after a tumultuous primary election and runoff, was seeking his third term as Speaker. A number of challengers to Phelan emerged during December and January seeking to govern the House in a new direction. By the end of the day on January 14, the House had elected Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) as the new Speaker of the House.
While Speaker Burrows is considered by some to be an “institutionalist” and defender of House traditions, some very important changes occurred with the House Rules, which signaled a new direction. No longer will the minority party chair committees, but all committees will have vice-chairs of the minority party.
House Rules were further tightened up to make it more difficult to defeat bills on points of order. Perhaps the most significant change with a new Speaker is the full support that the Speaker has given to school choice or school vouchers. In 2023 and the subsequent special sessions, significant differences existed between the House, Senate and Governor Greg Abbott, and between then Speaker Phelan and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. The differences on school choice seem to have been resolved.
In the Texas Senate, it is business as usual, with Lt. Governor Patrick in control with a solid Republican majority, increasing by one member since 2023. The Senate has been focused on passing many of the Governor’s emergency items – bail reform and school choice – while at the same time beginning to tackle the important issues of water infrastructure, immigration enforcement, school finance and teacher pay raises.
The Senate traditionally passes high priority legislation early in the session, thereby moving those bills to the House where more debate occurs for the remainder of the session, followed by both chambers coming together to work out their differences. With the Governor, Lt. Governor, Comptroller and other statewide elected officials on the ballot in 2026, the likelihood of numerous special sessions is considerably lower in 2025 than in past years.
TXCPA has had a very productive session and we are confident of further success with our legislation through the end of the session. As of the time of this writing, Senate Bill 262 – creating an additional pathway to CPA licensure – passed both chambers unanimously and is now headed to the governor.
In addition, at the time of this writing, SB 522/HB 1764, individual practice mobility, was approved by the Texas House and is now headed to the governor. Get all the latest updates in the Legislative Action Center on the TXCPA website.
About the Author: Kenneth Besserman, JD, LLM is TXCPA's Director of Government Affairs and Special Counsel. Contact him at kbesserman@tx.cpa.
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