Texas Legislature Monthly Report March 2018 POLITICAL: Primary Elections – Texas was the first state in the country to hold its Primary Elections, which were on Tuesday, March 6th. Republican Primary turnout was 10.12% of registered voters – 1,543.725 voters cast ballots, a 16 percent increase over 2014 (the last non-presidential year). Democratic Primary turnout was 6.8% of registered voters - 1,037,799 voters cast ballots, 491,319 more than in 2014, when 546,480 Texans cast ballots, a 90% increase. STATEWIDE RACES: Republican Primary – All of the statewide elected officials on the ballot won their Republican Primary races without a run-off – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Land Commissioner George P. Bush, Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick, and Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Justice Sharon Keller. Note: Attorney General Ken Paxton, Comptroller Glenn Hegar, Supreme Court Justices Jimmy Blacklock, John Devine, and Jeff Brown, and Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Barbara Parker Hervey were unopposed. Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8 – The only statewide open seat in the Republican Primary was Court of Criminal Appeals Place 8. Galveston District Judge Michelle M. Slaughter won that race without a run-off. Democratic Primary: U.S. Senate – Beto O’Rourke of El Paso won the Democratic Primary and will challenge U.S. Senator Ted Cruz in the November General Election. Governor – There will be a run-off between former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Andrew White, son of former Governor Mark White. Lt. Governor – Michael Collier, a CPA from Humble will challenge Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. Comptroller – Joi L. Chevalier, a product manager for Dell Computer is the Democratic nominee for Comptroller and will challenge Glenn Hegar in November. Land Commissioner – Austin attorney Miguel Suazo is the Democratic nominee who will challenge Land Commissioner George P. Bush. Railroad Commissioner – Roman McAllen of Denton is the Democrat who will take on Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick in November. 1 TEXAS SENATE: The Texas Senate currently has 20 Republicans and 11 Democrats. 16 incumbent Senators are not up for re-election until 2020. 15 of the 31 Senate districts are up for election in 2018. One incumbent Senator is not seeking re-election: • Van Taylor in District 8 – Angela Paxton, wife of Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican Primary in Senate District 8. One incumbent Senator has no major party opposition in the Primary or the General Elections: • Royce West in District 23 Six incumbent Senators did not have Primary Election opposition, but have General Election opponents: • Paul Bettencourt in District 7, • Konni Burton in District 10, • Kelly Hancock in District 9, • Don Huffines in District 16, • Robert Nichols in District 3, and • Kirk Watson in District 14. 7 incumbent Senate members had Primary Election contests and 6 of them won their elections. One incumbent Senate member was defeated in the Primary: Senator Craig Estes in District 30 There is one Democratic Run-off to select a candidate to oppose incumbent Republican: Joan Huffman in District 17 – Democratic Primary Run-off between Rita Lucido and Fran Watson TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The Texas House has 94 Republicans and 55 Democrats - one Republican has resigned, and his seat is vacant – Rep. Leighton Schubert (District 13). The Special Election will be on May 5, 2018. All 150 members of the Texas House are up for re-election in 2018. 42 incumbent State Representatives had Primary Election contests and 34 of them won their races. 6 incumbent Representatives were defeated in the Primary: • Wayne Faircloth in District 23 • Dawnna Dukes in District 46 • Roberto Alonzo in District 104 • Jason Villalba in District 114 • Diana Arevalo in District 116 • Tomas Uresti in District 118 2 incumbent Representatives will be in run-off elections: • Rene Oliveira in District 37 – Oliveira’s Democratic Primary Run-off challenger is Alex Dominguez • Scott Cosper in District 54 – Cosper’s Republican Primary Run-off challenger is Brad Buckley 13 Incumbent Members of the Texas House did Not Seeking Re-election: 2 • Cindy Burkett in District 113, • Byron Cook in District 8, • Pat Fallon in District 106, • Helen Giddings in District 109, • Larry Gonzales in District 52, • Lance Gooden in District 4, • Jason Isaac in District 45, • Mark Keough in District 15, • Jodie Laubenberg in District 89, • Larry Phillips in District 62, • Kevin Roberts in District 126. • Leighton Schubert in District 13, and • Joe Straus in District 121. There are run-off elections in 8 Open seats: • House District 4 – Republican Primary Run-off between Keith Bell and Stuart Spitzer (being vacated by Rep. Lance Gooden) • House District 8 – Republican Primary Run-off between Cody Harris and Thomas McNutt (being vacated by Rep. Byron Cook) • House District 13 – Republican Primary Run-off between Ben Leman and Jill Wolfskill (being vacated by Rep. Leighton Schubert, who has already resigned – special election to fill his unexpired term is on May 5, 2018) • House District 45 – Democratic Primary Run-off between Rebecca Bell- Metereau and Erin Zwiener (being vacated by Rep. Jason Isaac) • House District 46 – Democratic Primary Run-off between Sheryl Cole and Jose “Chito” Vela (Rep. Dawnna Dukes did not make the Run-off) • House District 62 – Republican Primary Run-off between Brent Lawson and Reggie Smith (being vacated by Rep. Larry Phillips) • House District 109 – Democratic Primary Run-off between Deshaundra Lockhart Jones and Carl Sherman (being vacated by Rep. Helen Giddings) • House District 121 – Republican Primary Run-off between Steve Allison and Matt Beebe (being vacated by Speaker Joe Straus) There will be run-off elections in 3 Democratic Primaries to determine who will challenge Republican incumbents: • Paul Workman in District 47 – Democratic Primary Run-off between Elaina Fowler and Vikki Goodwin • Lynn Stucky in District 64 – Democratic Primary Run-off between Andrew Morris and Mat Pruneda • Jim Murphy in District 133 – Democratic Primary Run-off between Sandra G. Moore and Marty Schexnayder There will be a run-off election in 1 Republican Primary to determine who will challenge a Democratic incumbent: • Victoria Neave in District 107 – Republican Primary Run-off between Deanna Maria Metzger and Joe Ruzicka 3 Texas Association of Business vs. Empower Texans - The Republican Primary had several races where traditional pro-business Republicans and social conservative Republicans were fighting it out for control of the Republican Party. Traditional pro-business Republican candidates endorsed by Texas Association of Business (TAB) prevailed in 15 races, while social conservative Republican candidates endorsed by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility/Empower Texans (TFR/ET) prevailed in 8 races. One race is going to a run-off. STATEWIDE: Hurricane Harvey Recovery: Senate Finance Committee – The Senate Finance Committee met on March 20th, to take up its interim charge on Hurricane Harvey Relief and Recovery. The committee heard from Education Commissioner Mike Morath, and representatives of the Legislative Budget Board, Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Education Agency, the General Land Office, and the Lone Star Chapter of he Sierra Club. Sarah Keyton of the Legislative Budget Board gave an update on costs and expenditures related to Hurricane Harvey recovery: • Fiscal years 2017–18 hurricane expenditures total $2.1 billion in All Funds ($1,644.6 million in Federal Funds and $206.2 million in General Revenue). • In addition to these expenditures, agencies estimate an additional $5.1 billion in projected costs in All Funds for FY 2018 ($4,590.0 million in Federal Funds and $336.0 million in General Revenue). BUDGET: Senate Finance Committee – The Senate Finance Committee met on March 20th, to take up its interim charge on the Economic Stabilization Fund - Examine options to increase investment earnings of the Economic Stabilization Fund in a manner that minimizes overall risk to the fund balance. Investment options should ensure the liquidity of a sufficient portion of the balance so that the legislature has the resources necessary to address the needs of the state, including natural disasters. Evaluate how the Economic Stabilization Fund constitutional limit is calculated; consider alternative methods to calculate the limit, and alternative uses for funds above the limit. The committee heard from Comptroller Glenn Hegar, and representatives of the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, Center for Fiscal Policy at Texas Public Policy Foundation, and The Pew Charitable Trusts. House Select Committee on Economic Competitiveness – The House Select Committee on Economic Competitiveness issued its report on March 13th. The committee was established by House Speaker Joe Straus. The committee held two public hearings on November 15, 2017 and December 5, 2017. The committee recommended: 4 Public Education: The legislature must prioritize funding for public education that is regularly adjusted to account for growth in population and inflation. Policymakers should closely examine the effectiveness of public education expenditures to ensure that dollars are used to maximize student success, and ensure the state's academic accountability system increases the performance of schools and students. Higher Education and Workforce Development: The legislature should increase