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Dewhurst Appoints Senate Committees

Marjorie Kamys Cotera, Texas Tribune

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst slipped out his committee assignments for the 83rd Legislature late Friday afternoon, a bit of timing that will give senators — and the lieutenant governor — several days before they see each other again to debate the choices. 

This year's announcements are earlier than usual, and a bit anticlimactic: Dewhurst rearranged the chairmanships late last year.

"Texas is the number one state in America to do business, with the fastest growing population, and thank goodness we have such talented state Senators helping to maintain Texas’ prosperity," Dewhurst said in a press release. "During this session, we will be focused on balancing the budget without raising taxes, improving public education and increasing highway capacity and drinking water resources for our growing population. I know that our Senators are up to the challenge to keep Texas number one for decades to come."

Here are the assignments:

ADMINISTRATION
Eltife, Chair 
Uresti, Vice-Chair 
Carona
Hancock 
Whitmire 
Williams
Zaffirini

AGRICULTURE, RURAL AFFAIRS & HOMELAND SECURITY
Estes, Chair
Uresti, Vice-Chair 
Hegar
Hinojosa 
Schwertner

BUSINESS & COMMERCE
Carona, Chair 
Taylor, Vice-Chair 
Eltife
Estes
Hancock
Lucio
Van de Putte 
Watson
Whitmire

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Whitmire, Chair 
Huffman, Vice-Chair 
Carona
Hinojosa
Patrick 
Rodriguez 
Schwertner

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Deuell, Chair 
Hancock, Vice-Chair 
Birdwell
Davis 
Eltife 
Fraser 
Watson

EDUCATION
Patrick, Chair 
Lucio, Vice-Chair 
Campbell
Duncan
Paxton
Seliger
Taylor
Van de Putte 
West

FINANCE
Williams, Chair 
Hinojosa, Vice-Chair 
Deuell
Duncan
Eltife
Estes
Hegar, subcommittee chair on state and local revenue matters
Huffman
Lucio
Nelson
Patrick
Seliger
West
Whitmire
Zaffirini

GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION
Zaffirini, Chair 
Schwertner, Vice-Chair 
Birdwell
Paxton 
Rodriguez 
Taylor

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Nelson, Chair
Deuell, Vice-Chair 
Huffman
Nichols 
Schwertner 
Taylor 
Uresti 
West 
Zaffirini

HIGHER EDUCATION
Seliger, Chair 
Watson, Vice-Chair 
Birdwell
Duncan
Patrick
West
Zaffirini

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
Hinojosa, Chair
Nichols, Vice-Chair
Paxton 
Taylor

JURISPRUDENCE
West, Chair 
Rodriguez, Vice-Chair 
Campbell
Carona
Hancock
Paxton

NATURAL RESOURCES
Fraser, Chair 
Estes, Vice-Chair 
Deuell
Duncan
Ellis
Eltife
Hegar
Hinojosa
Nichols
Seliger
Uresti

NOMINATIONS
Hegar, Chair 
Campbell, Vice-Chair 
Carona
Fraser
Nelson
Watson

OPEN GOVERNMENT
Ellis, Chair 
Davis, Vice-Chair 
Nelson
Seliger
Williams

STATE AFFAIRS
Duncan, Chair 
Deuell, Vice-Chair 
Ellis
Fraser
Huffman
Lucio
Nichols
Van de Putte 
Williams

TRANSPORTATION
Nichols, Chair 
Paxton, Vice-Chair 
Campbell
Davis
Ellis
Hancock
Patrick
Uresti
Watson

VETERANS AFFAIRS & MILITARY INSTALLATIONS
Van de Putte, Chair 
Birdwell, Vice-Chair 
Campbell
Davis 
Rodriguez

Ross Ramsey is managing editor of The Texas Tribune and continues as editor of Texas Weekly, the premier newsletter on government and politics in the Lone Star State, a role he's had since September 1998. Texas Weekly was a print-only journal when he took the reins in 1998; he switched it to a subscription-based, internet-only journal by the end of 2004 without a significant loss in subscribers. As Texas Weekly's primary writer for 11 years, he turned out roughly 2 million words in more than 500 editions, added an online library of resources and documents and items of interest to insiders, and a daily news clipping service that links to stories from papers across Texas. Before joining Texas Weekly in September 1998, Ramsey was associate deputy comptroller for policy with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, also working as the agency's director of communications. Prior to that 28-month stint in government, Ramsey spent 17 years in journalism, reporting for the Houston Chronicle from its Austin bureau and for the Dallas Times Herald, first on the business desk in Dallas and later as the paper's Austin bureau chief. Prior to that, as a Dallas-based freelance business writer, he wrote for regional and national magazines and newspapers. Ramsey got his start in journalism in broadcasting, working for almost seven years covering news for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
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