14 House Republicans May Have Nothing
Much to Lose after Local Calendar Sacking
Capitol Inside
April 25, 2025
A group of conservative Texas House Republicans who have the least to lose may have put a curse on bills they hoped to pass when they derailed the calendar for local legislation on Friday as retaliation for Democrats holding constitutional amendments hostage as a vestige from a school vouchers fight.
Fourteen Republicans teamed for the parliamentary strike that sent scores of measures back to the Local & Consent Calendars Committee, which moved in turn to set all of the bills that fell victim to the maneuvering for votes on the floor on the general calendar next week.
With three weeks left to pass legislation in the west wing of the Capitol in Austin, the unexpected flood of bills from the local calendar could mean that House members will have some marathon meetings in store if the chamber's leaders want to salvage as many local bills as possible before they become collateral damage in a school choice battle that ended this week.
The Republicans who pulled the plug on the all but two bills on the local calendar today portrayed the move as a counter punch aimed primarily at Democrats. But the Republicans who ambushed the local calendar appeared to be using the maneuver to send a message to GOP Speaker Dustin Burrows on the stalling and sluggish movement of state party priorities through the Legislature's lower chamber.
State Rep. Tony Tinderholt of Arlington revealed the motive behind the local legislation sacking in a post on X.
"Today, conservative members of the Texas House killed Democrat bills placed on the Local & Consent Calendar," Tinderholt explained. "We entered the following statement into the House Journal regarding our vote. Our mission is to pass GOP policies and priorities."
Bills are set on the local calendar when they have no apparent opposition and appear to be on track to pass without debate. But a substantial number of local bills that were routed back to committee today could be destined to die eventually in legislative logjams in the face of deadlines. The overall number of bills that clear the Legislature in regular session could be substantially lower this time around as a consequence of the hijacking of the local calendar
But the tactic raised eyebrows inside the Capitol corridors in light of the fact that the conservatives in the Tinderholt camp ended up punishing fellow Republicans as much as Democrats despite his attempt to justify it on partisan grounds.
The conservatives who picked off the local calendar included State Reps. Keresa Richardson of McKinney, Briscoe Cain of Deer Park, Brian Harrison of Midlothian, David Lowe of Fort Worth, Mitch Little of Lewisville, Tony Tinderholt of Arlington, Brent Money of Greenville, Andy Hopper of Decatur, Mike Olcott of Aledo, AJ Louderback of Victoria, Katrina Pierson of Rockwall, Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth, Alan Schoolcraft of San Antonio and Steve Toth of Conroe.
Eight of the lawmakers behind the move are freshmen who had no experience in the Legislature before 2025. Schoolcraft is the group's only member who's actually passed a bill out of the House this year.
Harrison, Little, Lowe and Tinderholt have failed to pass legislation in committee so far this year. Several other members of the group have received positive votes in committees for multiple measures that they filed in 2025. Hopper, Money and Pierson have each had one bill gain a committee or subcommittee nod. Louderback and Olcott have scored committee OKs on four bills apiece. Richardson is close behind with three.
But the conservatives who zapped the local calendar today may see the odds for passing any legislation in regular session plunging as a product of the strategy that they say was directed at the Democrats.
more to come ...
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