AUSTIN — With nearly his entire legislative agenda approved by the Senate weeks before the Legislature’s session ends, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is now...
Keeping sexually explicit books out of public school librariesMandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes — the Senate, for offenses committed with a gun; the House, for illegal activities at the Texas-Mexico borderSchool security in the wake of the Uvalde school massacreOther proposed legislation could create political strife, such as culture war issues that Phelan and House members don’t list as agenda items.
Political analysts say Patrick will apply pressure on Phelan for the rest of the session. Phelan would then have to assess which of Patrick’s priorities to move forward for approval and which to ignore. “Patrick has 19 Republican senators who follow his lead and are reluctant to challenge him on anything,” said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones, who analyzes the Legislature. “It’s a situation where Phelan is going to try to assess how much of Patrick’s agenda he can block, while not adversely affecting the reelection prospects in the 2024 GOP primary for members of his own team.”
House Republicans could be wary of defying Patrick’s agenda because he’ll use it against them in upcoming elections. Even though they are in separate chambers, Texas Republicans are bound by primary voters attuned to the culture war issues on Patrick’s list. “It’s captured on a roll call vote, which means that they’re going to be liable for any transgressions to the conservative cause,” Jones said. “Every Patrick priority bill that doesn’t pass out of the House is going to be laid at the feet of every one of those Republicans who didn’t support him.”. The Howard University graduate and Chicago native has covered four presidential campaigns and written extensively about local, state and national politics.
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