FOURTEENTH DAY --- THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025

The house met at 9 a.m. and was called to order by the speaker.

The roll of the house was called and a quorum was announced present (Record 23).

Present — Mr. Speaker(C); Alders; Allen; Anchía; Ashby; Barry; Bell, C.; Bell, K.; Bernal; Bhojani; Bonnen; Bowers; Bryant; Buckley; Bucy; Bumgarner; Button; Cain; Campos; Canales; Capriglione; Cole; Collier; Cook; Cortez; Craddick; Cunningham; Curry; Darby; Davis, A.; Davis, Y.; Dean; DeAyala; Dorazio; Dutton; Dyson; Fairly; Flores; Frank; Gámez; Garcia, J.; Garcia, L.; Garcia Hernandez; Gates; Gerdes; Geren; Gervin-Hawkins; González, J.; González, M.; Goodwin; Guerra; Guillen; Harless; Harris; Harris Davila; Harrison; Hayes; Hefner; Hickland; Hinojosa; Holt; Hopper; Howard; Hull; Hunter; Isaac; Johnson; Jones, J.; Jones, V.; King; Kitzman; LaHood; Lalani; Lambert; Landgraf; Leach; Leo Wilson; Little; Longoria; Lopez, J.; Lopez, R.; Louderback; Lowe; Lozano; Lujan; Luther; Manuel; Martinez; Martinez Fischer; McLaughlin; McQueeney; Metcalf; Meyer; Meza; Money; Moody; Morales, C.; Morales, E.; Morales Shaw; Morgan; Muñoz; Noble; Olcott; Oliverson; Ordaz; Orr; Patterson; Perez, M.; Perez, V.; Phelan; Pierson; Plesa; Raymond; Richardson; Rodríguez Ramos; Romero; Rose; Rosenthal; Schatzline; Schofield; Schoolcraft; Shaheen; Shofner; Simmons; Slawson; Smithee; Spiller; Swanson; Talarico; Tepper; Thompson; Tinderholt; Toth; Troxclair; Turner; VanDeaver; Vasut; Villalobos; Virdell; Vo; Walle; Ward Johnson; Wharton; Wilson; Wu; Zwiener.

Absent, Excused — Hernandez; Kerwin; Paul.

Absent — Reynolds.

The invocation was offered by Representative Dutton as follows:

To the God of the Panhandle, to the God of the Rio Grande Valley, to the God of the High Plains, to the God of the Gulf Coast, to the God of the Piney Woods, to the God of Central Texas, to the God of West Texas, to the God of rural Texas, to the God of urban Texas, to the God of the poor, to the God of the rich, to the God of the powerful, to the God of the powerless, we thank you for being one God. And today, we earnestly pray that our differences serve to keep Texas one under God. Amen.

The chair recognized Representative Dean who led the house in the pledges of allegiance to the United States and Texas flags.

The following members were granted leaves of absence for today because of important business:

Hernandez on motion of Walle.

Paul on motion of Frank.

The following member was granted leave of absence for today to attend her daughter's swearing-in ceremony:

Kerwin on motion of Curry.

The chair presented Dr. Cindy Cedillo-Ruiz of Houston as the "Doctor for the Day."

The house welcomed Dr. Cedillo-Ruiz and thanked them for their participation in the Physician of the Day Program sponsored by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians.

A message from the senate was received at this time (see the addendum to the daily journal, Messages from the Senate, Message No. 1).

Representative Dutton moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HR 255.

The motion prevailed.

The following resolution was laid before the house:

HR 255, In memory of Robert Allen Batteaux of Houston.

HR 255 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote.

On motion of Representative King, the names of all the members of the house were added to HR 255 as signers thereof.

Representative Y. Davis moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HR 251.

The motion prevailed.

The following resolution was laid before the house:

HR 251, In memory of Alma Jewel Pryor of Dallas.

HR 251 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote.

Representative Y. Davis moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HR 162.

The motion prevailed.

The following resolution was laid before the house:

HR 162, Congratulating Shirley Ison-Newsome on her receipt of the 2025 Living Legend Award from the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators.

HR 162 was adopted.

Representative McLaughlin moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HR 238.

The motion prevailed.

The following resolution was laid before the house:

HR 238, Recognizing February 13, 2025, as Uvalde County Day at the State Capitol.

HR 238 was adopted.

On motion of Representative E. Morales, the names of all the members of the house were added to HR 238 as signers thereof.

The chair recognized Representative McLaughlin who introduced a delegation from Uvalde County.

(Reynolds now present)

Representative Curry moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HR 193.

The motion prevailed.

The following resolution was laid before the house:

HR 193, Recognizing February 13, 2025, as West Day at the State Capitol.

HR 193 was adopted.

The following member was granted leave of absence for the remainder of today because of important business in the district:

Anchía on motion of Hinojosa.

Representative Hinojosa moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HR 245.

The motion prevailed.

The following resolution was laid before the house:

HR 245, Recognizing February 13, 2025, as Texas NAHRO Day at the State Capitol.

HR 245 was adopted.

Representative Guillen moved to suspend all necessary rules to take up and consider at this time HR 257.

The motion prevailed.

The following resolution was laid before the house:

HR 257, Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Starr County Memorial Hospital.

HR 257 was adopted.

The chair laid before the house and had read the following statement:

In most parliamentary bodies, the members recognize the longest continuously serving member for their wisdom and guidance based, in part, on the institutional knowledge gained from their length of service. The United States House of Representatives designates this member as "Dean of the United States House of Representatives." Examples of notable deans in the past include Sir Winston Churchill, Wright Patman, and George Mahon.

The Honorable Tom Craddick of Midland County and the Honorable Senfronia Thompson of Harris County, as the longest continuously serving members of the Texas House, are recognized as Deans of the Texas House of Representatives.

Pursuant to Rule 1, Section 10, of the House Rules, Speaker Burrows appointed the Honorable Joseph E. Moody of El Paso County to serve as the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Texas House of Representatives, 89th Legislature.

Pursuant to Rule 1, Section 15, and Rule 4, Section 2, of the House Rules, the chair had read the following standing committee appointments for the 89th Legislature:

Guillen, chair; Guerra, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Kitzman, J. Lopez, and McLaughlin.

Speaker appointments: Cain, Hopper, Money, and Muñoz.

Bonnen, chair; M. González, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Bonnen, Collier, Gervin-Hawkins, Goodwin, Harrison, Howard, Lozano, Martinez, Oliverson, Rose, Slawson, and Wu.

Speaker appointments: Barry, DeAyala, Fairly, Garcia Hernandez, V. Jones, Kitzman, J. Lopez, Lujan, Manuel, Orr, Simmons, Tepper, Villalobos, and Walle.

Hunter, chair; Rose, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Canales, Gerdes, Harris, Hernandez, Johnson, Leach, J. Lopez, Romero, and Tepper.

Harless, chair; V. Jones, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: V. Jones, Lowe, and Wharton.

Speaker appointments: Allen, Harrison, Lozano, Meza, and Schatzline.

Smithee, chair; Wu, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Little, Louderback, and Money.

Speaker appointments: Bowers, Cook, J. Jones, Moody, Rodríguez Ramos, and Virdell.

Cook, chair; J. Jones, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Louderback, Virdell, and Wu.

Metcalf, chair; Flores, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: DeAyala, Flores, and Vasut.

Speaker appointments: Cole, Kerwin, Martinez Fischer, Orr, and Ward Johnson.

Capriglione, chair; Bhojani, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Bowers, Cain, Capriglione, Cook, and Rodríguez Ramos.

Speaker appointments: Alders, Campos, Curry, L. Garcia, Olcott, Tinderholt, and Troxclair.

Shaheen, chair; Bucy, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Isaac, Swanson, and Toth.

Speaker appointments: Morales Shaw, Plesa, Raymond, and Wilson.

Darby, chair; E. Morales, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Craddick, Gates, Guerra, and E. Morales.

Speaker appointments: Dean, Dyson, J. Garcia, Gerdes, Reynolds, and Rosenthal.

Landgraf, chair; Ordaz, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: K. Bell, Landgraf, and Reynolds.

Speaker appointments: Anchía, Bumgarner, Morales Shaw, Oliverson, and Toth.

K. Bell, chair; Gámez, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Bonnen, Geren, and Moody.

Wilson, chair; Howard, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Lambert, V. Perez, Shaheen, and Tinderholt.

Speaker appointments: A. Davis, Lalani, Shofner, VanDeaver, and Ward Johnson.

Hefner, chair; R. Lopez, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Dorazio, Hickland, R. Lopez, and Pierson.

Speaker appointments: Canales, Cortez, Holt, Isaac, Louderback, and McLaughlin.

Cortez, chair; Dorazio, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Hickland, Isaac, and R. Lopez.

Geren, chair; Cole, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Button, Darby, Harless, King, Martinez, Meyer, Moody, Reynolds, and Talarico.

Hull, chair; Manuel, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Hull, Manuel, Noble, and Schatzline.

Speaker appointments: A. Davis, Dorazio, C. Morales, Richardson, Rose, Slawson, and Swanson.

Dean, chair; Vo, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Paul, Spiller, and Vo.

Speaker appointments: J. González, Goodwin, Hopper, Morgan, and Wharton.

C. Bell, chair; Zwiener, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Cole, Cortez, Rosenthal, and Tepper.

Speaker appointments: Garcia Hernandez, Leo Wilson, Lowe, Luther, and Spiller.

Spiller, chair; Cole, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Lowe, Tepper, and Zwiener.

Tepper, chair; Garcia Hernandez, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Leo Wilson.

Leach, chair; Johnson, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Dutton, J. González, Moody, and Schofield.

Speaker appointments: Dyson, Flores, Hayes, LaHood, and Landgraf.

Dutton, chair; Hayes, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: J. González, LaHood, and Landgraf.

Gates, chair; Lalani, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Alders, Morgan, and Virdell.

Speaker appointments: Y. Davis, Hinojosa, Hunter, and R. Lopez.

Phelan, chair; Thompson, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Hernandez, Longoria, M. Perez, Thompson, and Walle.

Speaker appointments: Gerdes, Geren, Harless, Harris, McQueeney, Patterson, and Romero.

Patterson, chair; Bowers, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Barry, Bucy, Cunningham, Fairly, J. González, Lujan, V. Perez, Villalobos, and Zwiener.

Harris, chair; Martinez, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Ashby, C. Bell, M. González, Romero, and Zwiener.

Speaker appointments: Barry, Buckley, Fairly, Gámez, J. Garcia, and Villalobos.

Lambert, chair; Plesa, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Plesa.

Speaker appointments: Bryant, Bumgarner, L. Garcia, Hayes, Holt, Schoolcraft, and Vo.

Buckley, chair; Bernal, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Allen, Bryant, Buckley, Cunningham, Hinojosa, and Schoolcraft.

Speaker appointments: Ashby, Dutton, Frank, Hunter, Kerwin, Leach, Leo Wilson, and Talarico.

Ashby, chair; Talarico, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Dutton, Hunter, and Schoolcraft.

VanDeaver, chair; Campos, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Bucy, Campos, Frank, Johnson, and J. Jones.

Speaker appointments: Collier, Cunningham, Olcott, Pierson, Schofield, Shofner, and Simmons.

Frank, chair; Bucy, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Cunningham, Johnson, and Pierson.

Vasut, chair; Rosenthal, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: J. Garcia, Gervin-Hawkins, Guerra, Guillen, Hefner, Hickland, J. Jones, Manuel, Oliverson, Spiller, Tepper, Wilson, and Wu.

King, chair; Hernandez, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Darby, Y. Davis, Geren, Guillen, Raymond, and Smithee.

Speaker appointments: Anchía, Hull, McQueeney, Metcalf, Phelan, Thompson, and Turner.

Anchía, chair; Metcalf, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Hernandez, Hull, and McQueeney.

Button, chair; Talarico, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Lujan, Meza, Ordaz, and Talarico.

Speaker appointments: K. Bell, Bhojani, Harris Davila, Longoria, Luther, and Richardson.

Lujan, chair; Longoria, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Richardson.

Longoria, chair; Harris Davila, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: K. Bell, Bhojani, and Lujan.

Craddick, chair; M. Perez, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Canales, Gámez, Harris Davila, C. Morales, and Patterson.

Speaker appointments: Curry, Hefner, LaHood, Little, E. Morales, and Paul.

Canales, chair; Paul, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Hefner, Patterson, and M. Perez.

Meyer, chair; Martinez Fischer, vice-chair.

Seniority appointments: Bernal, Button, Martinez Fischer, Muñoz, and Turner.

Speaker appointments: Capriglione, Gervin-Hawkins, Hickland, Noble, V. Perez, Troxclair, and Vasut.

Turner, chair; Noble, vice-chair.

Speaker appointments: Bernal, Button, and Capriglione.

Representative Dutton moved that the house adjourn until 2 p.m. Tuesday, February 18 in memory of Robert Allen Batteaux of Houston.

The motion prevailed.

The house accordingly, at 9:38 a.m., adjourned until 2 p.m. Tuesday, February 18.

The following messages from the senate were today received by the house:

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE

SENATE CHAMBER

Austin, Texas

Thursday, February 13, 2025

The Honorable Speaker of the House

House Chamber

Austin, Texas

Mr. Speaker:

I am directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has taken the following action:

THE SENATE HAS PASSED THE FOLLOWING MEASURES:

Inviting the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas to address a joint session of the legislature on February 26, 2025.

Respectfully,

Patsy Spaw

Secretary of the Senate