Quick Jump
Summary of Committee Analysis
On average, Texas Senate committees are more fiscally responsible than those in the Texas House, though both have concerning averages for Texas taxpayers.
With concern over the political dispositions of committee chairmen reaching a fever pitch in the last few election cycles, we thought it would be prudent to provide a comparison of the Fiscal Index score for chairmen of each standing committee in each legislative chamber and then compare those ratings with the previous legislative session. On average, the chairmen in the Texas Senate are more fiscally responsible than those in the Texas House.
Texas Senate
Standing Committee Chairmen – Score Variation
| Standing Senate Committees | Chairman (88th) | Score 2023 | Comparison | Chairman (87th) | Score 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administration | Hall (R) | 91 | 🔼 | Schwertner (R) | 74 |
| Border Security | Birdwell (R) | 56 | 🔽 | Birdwell (R) | 73 |
| Business & Commerce | Schwertner (R) | 62 | 🔽 | Hancock (R) | 70 |
| Criminal Justice | Whitmire (D) | 22 | 🔼 | Whitmire (D) | 14 |
| Education | Creighton (R) | 65 | 🔽 | Taylor (R) | 68 |
| Finance | Huffman (R) | 56 | 🔽 | Nelson (R) | 66 |
| Health & Human Services | Kolkhorst (R) | 67 | 🔽 | Kolkhorst (R) | 71 |
| Jurisprudence | Hughes (R) | 91 | 🔼 | Huffman (R) | 69 |
| Local Government | Bettencourt (R) | 63 | 🔽 | Bettencourt (R) | 71 |
| Natural Resources & Economic Development | Birdwell (R) | 56 | 🔽 | Birdwell (R) | 73 |
| Nominations | Campbell (R) | 59 | 🔽 | Buckingham (R) | 70 |
| State Affairs | Hughes (R) | 91 | 🔽 | Hughes (R) | 92 |
| Transportation | Nichols (R) | 54 | 🔽 | Nichols (R) | 71 |
| Veteran Affairs | Hancock (R) | 61 | 🔽 | Campbell (R) | 69 |
| Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs | Perry (R) | 59 | 🔽 | Perry (R) | 65 |
Standing Committees – Score Averages
| Standing Senate Committees | Chairman | Score 2023 | Partisan Split | Average Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administration | Hall (R) | 91 | 4 (R) / 3 (D) | 53 |
| Border Security | Birdwell (R) | 56 | 3 (R) / 2 (D) | 46 |
| Business & Commerce | Schwertner (R) | 62 | 8 (R) / 3 (D) | 52 |
| Criminal Justice | Whitmire (D) | 22 | 4 (R) / 3 (D) | 44 |
| Education | Creighton (R) | 65 | 10 (R) / 3 (D) | 54 |
| Finance | Huffman (R) | 56 | 13 (R) / 4 (D) | 55 |
| Health & Human Services | Kolkhorst (R) | 67 | 7 (R) / 2 (D) | 55 |
| Jurisprudence | Hughes (R) | 91 | 3 (R) / 2 (D) | 59 |
| Local Government | Bettencourt (R) | 63 | 6 (R) / 3 (D) | 50 |
| Natural Resources & Economic Development | Birdwell (R) | 56 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 47 |
| Nominations | Campbell (R) | 59 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 46 |
| State Affairs | Hughes (R) | 91 | 8 (R) / 3 (D) | 55 |
| Transportation | Nichols (R) | 54 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 42 |
| Veteran Affairs | Hancock (R) | 61 | 4 (R) / 3 (D) | 48 |
| Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs | Perry (R) | 59 | 6 (R) / 3 (D) | 48 |
Texas House of Representatives
Standing Committee Chairmen – Score Variation
| Standing House Committees | Chairman (88th) | Score 2023 | Comparison | Chairman (87th) | Score 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & Livestock | Cain (R) | 89 | 🔼 | Burns (R) | 58 |
| Appropriations | Bonnen (R) | 53 | 🔽 | Bonnen (R) | 54 |
| Business & Industry | Longoria (D) | 24 | 🔼 | Turner (D) | 11 |
| Calendars | Burrows (R) | 48 | 🔼 | Burrows (R) | 39 |
| Corrections | Herrero (D) | 14 | 🔽 | Murr (R) | 73 |
| County Affairs | Neave-Criado (D) | 17 | 🔽 | Coleman (D) | 19 |
| Criminal Jurisprudence | Moody (D) | 18 | 🔼 | Collier (D) | 11 |
| Culture, Recreation & Tourism | Ashby (R) | 49 | 🔼 | King, K. (R) | 33 |
| Defense & Veterans’ Affairs | Wilson (R) | 82 | 🔼 | Raymond (D) | 27 |
| Elections | Smith (R) | 51 | 🔽 | Cain (R) | 94 |
| Energy Resources | Goldman (R) | 52 | 🔼 | Goldman (R) | 48 |
| Environmental Regulation | Landgraf (R) | 48 | 🔽 | Landgraf (R) | 69 |
| General Investigating | Murr (R) | 54 | 🔽 | Krause (R) | 75 |
| Higher Education | Kuempel (R) | 45 | 🔼 | Murphy (R) | 35 |
| Homeland Security & Public Safety | Guillen (R) | 42 | 🔽 | White (R) | 62 |
| House Administration | Metcalf (R) | 63 | 🔽 | Metcalf (R) | 65 |
| Human Services | Frank (R) | 47 | 🔽 | Frank (R) | 53 |
| Insurance | Oliverson (R) | 55 | 🔽 | Oliverson (R) | 62 |
| International Relations & Economic Development | Button (R) | 36 | 🔼 | Button (R) | 36 |
| Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence | Leach (R) | 63 | 🔽 | Leach (R) | 69 |
| Juvenile Justice & Family Issues | Dutton Jr. (D) | 24 | 🔼 | Neave (D) | 14 |
| Land & Resource Management | Burns (R) | 47 | 🔼 | Deshotel (D) | 16 |
| Licensing & Administrative Procedures | King, K. (R) | 42 | 🔼 | Thompson, S. (D) | 16 |
| Local & Consent Calendars | Harris, Co. (R) | 61 | 🔼 | Geren (R) | 31 |
| Natural Resources | King, T. (D) | 29 | 🔼 | King, T. (D) | 23 |
| Pensions, Investments & Financial Services | Capriglione (R) | 45 | 🔼 | Anchia (D) | 15 |
| Public Education | Buckley (R) | 46 | 🔼 | Dutton Jr. (D) | 18 |
| Public Health | Klick (R) | 49 | 🔽 | Klick (R) | 54 |
| Redistricting | Darby (R) | 39 | 🔼 | Hunter (R) | 34 |
| Resolutions Calendars | Guerra (D) | 24 | 🔽 | Guillen (D) | 26 |
| State Affairs | Hunter (R) | 36 | 🔼 | Paddie (R) | 33 |
| Transportation | Canales (D) | 26 | 🔼 | Canales (D) | 22 |
| Urban Affairs | Lozano (R) | 37 | 🔼 | Cortez (D) | 16 |
| Ways & Means | Meyer (R) | 36 | 🔼 | Meyer (R) | 34 |
Standing Committees – Score Averages
| Standing House Committees | Chairman | Score 2021 | Partisan Split | Average Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & Livestock | Cain (R) | 89 | 6 (R) / 3 (D) | 48 |
| Appropriations | Bonnen (R) | 53 | 16 (R) / 11 (D) | 41 |
| Business & Industry | Longoria (D) | 24 | 5 (D) / 4 (R) | 38 |
| Calendars | Burrows (R) | 48 | 7 (R) / 4 (D) | 42 |
| Corrections | Herrero (D) | 14 | 5 (D) / 4 (R) | 40 |
| County Affairs | Neave-Criado (D) | 17 | 5 (R) / 3 (D) | 49 |
| Criminal Jurisprudence | Moody (D) | 18 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 46 |
| Culture, Recreation & Tourism | Ashby (R) | 49 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 37 |
| Defense & Veterans’ Affairs | Wilson (R) | 82 | 4 (R) / 4 (D) | 44 |
| Elections | Smith (R) | 51 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 40 |
| Energy Resources | Goldman (R) | 52 | 6 (R) / 5 (D) | 36 |
| Environmental Regulation | Landgraf (R) | 48 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 38 |
| General Investigating | Murr (R) | 54 | 3 (R) / 2 (D) | 42 |
| Higher Education | Kuempel (R) | 45 | 6 (R) / 5 (D) | 34 |
| Homeland Security & Public Safety | Guillen (R) | 42 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 41 |
| House Administration | Metcalf (R) | 63 | 6 (R) / 5 (D) | 35 |
| Human Services | Frank (R) | 47 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 41 |
| Insurance | Oliverson (R) | 55 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 44 |
| International Relations & Economic Development | Button (R) | 36 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 38 |
| Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence | Leach (R) | 63 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 46 |
| Juvenile Justice & Family Issues | Dutton Jr. (D) | 24 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 38 |
| Land & Resource Management | Burns (R) | 47 | 6 (R) / 3 (D) | 43 |
| Licensing & Administrative Procedures | King, K. (R) | 42 | 6 (R) / 5 (D) | 42 |
| Local & Consent Calendars | Harris, Co. (R) | 61 | 7 (R) / 4 (D) | 42 |
| Natural Resources | King, T. (D) | 29 | 6 (R) / 5 (D) | 35 |
| Pensions, Investments & Financial Services | Capriglione (R) | 45 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 37 |
| Public Education | Buckley (R) | 46 | 8 (R) / 5 (D) | 45 |
| Public Health | Klick (R) | 49 | 6 (R) / 5 (D) | 39 |
| Redistricting | Darby (R) | 39 | 9 (R) / 6 (D) | 35 |
| Resolutions Calendars | Guerra (D) | 24 | 6 (R) / 5 (D) | 38 |
| State Affairs | Hunter (R) | 36 | 8 (R) / 5 (D) | 42 |
| Transportation | Canales (D) | 26 | 7 (R) / 6 (D) | 36 |
| Urban Affairs | Lozano (R) | 37 | 5 (R) / 4 (D) | 41 |
| Ways & Means | Meyer (R) | 36 | 6 (R) / 5 (D) | 38 |