The House Committee on House Administration

89th Legislature

February 18, 2025

9:00 a.m.

3W.15

Pursuant to a notice posted on February 18, 2025, the House Committee on House Administration met in a formal meeting and was called to order by the chair, Representative Geren, at 9:00 a.m.

The initial quorum call was answered as follows: Representatives Geren; Cole; Button; Darby; Harless; King; Meyer; and Moody.

A quorum was present.

Representative Cole moved to grant the Chair the authority to act on the committee’s behalf in matters involving the management of the general budget, approval of expenditure requests by House members, management of House facilities, coordination with House support personnel, and general enforcement of House policies and procedures, with the exception that this delegation of authority does not include the authority to activate, deactivate, or reactivate provisions of House Rule 16 during the interim, which authority must be exercised by the full committee.

The motion prevailed without objection.

The Chair moved to:

(1) direct the executive director of the House Business Office to establish member operating accounts corresponding with the appropriate state fiscal years;

(2)  set the monthly credit to each member’s operating account in the amount of:

(A)  $21,250 for each month that falls wholly or partly during the regular legislative session or a special legislative session of the 89th Legislature; and

(B)  $18,500 in any other month; and

(3)  authorize an increase in the amount credited each month to each member’s operating account in an amount to allow for an increase in longevity pay as authorized by legislation; and

(4)  authorize a member to employ, with funds from the member’s operating budget, such staff as the member deems necessary;

(5)  authorize a member, at the close of each fiscal year, to carry forward and have credited to the member’s operating account for the next fiscal year the unexpended balance of the member’s current fiscal year operating account, not to exceed $30,000; provided that, if the member is the chair of a committee or permanent standing subcommittee, the member may transfer and have credited to that committee’s or permanent standing subcommittee’s operating account all or part of that unexpended balance, not to exceed $30,000, and may have the remainder of that amount credited to the member’s operating account; and further provided that a member who is the chair of a committee or permanent standing subcommittee may not transfer and have credited to that member’s operating account any portion of the unexpended balance of the committee’s or permanent standing subcommittee’s operating account; and

(6)  require, on the third business day of each calendar month, that the House Business Office shall determine the available, unobligated balance at the end of the preceding calendar month for each member’s operating account and each committee’s operating account; provided that, if the House Business Office determines that a member’s operating account has a negative balance at the end of the preceding calendar month, the office shall provide notice to the member and the member shall deposit funds in the account equal to the negative balance not later than the 10th business day after the date the member receives notice of the deficit from the House Business Office; provided further, however, that if a member deposits funds in the member’s operating account to cover a negative balance under this item and the member later has a positive balance in the member’s operating account at the end of a calendar month in the same fiscal year in which the member deposited the funds to cover the negative balance, the member may use the excess money in the member’s operating account at that time to reimburse the member in an amount not to exceed the amount the member earlier deposited to cover the negative balance; and provided further that a committee operating account may not operate at a deficit.

The motion prevailed without objection.

The Chair moved to adopt the committee budgets for the 89th Legislature regular session.

The motion prevailed without objection.

(Representative Martinez now present.)

The Chair moved to adopt the committee rules to implement House Rule 5, Section 20, related to the accreditation of media representatives.

The motion prevailed without objection.

The Chair moved to approve the electronic form of sworn statements used in the electronic witness registration system and paper sworn statement and translator identification forms as provided to the committee by the Committee Coordinator.

The motion prevailed without objection.

The Chair moved to approve the standard process for electronic submission and posting of public comments and the continued use of the informational links on committee meeting notices relating to live broadcasts of committee hearings, instructions for public access to the meeting location, instructions for witness registration, and access to the public comment input portal, which were used during the 88th Legislature.

The motion prevailed without objection.

(Representative Talarico now present.)

The Chair moved to approve the appropriate workplace conduct training process.

The motion prevailed without objection.

The Chair moved to adopt, pending the adoption of a permanent manual, the House Policies and Procedures Manual of the 88th Legislature and to approve the policies, procedures, and delegations of the Committee’s authority contained therein to the extent that they do not conflict with any action taken by the committee for the 89th Legislature.

The motion prevailed without objection.

The Chair appointed the following Subcommittee to Review the House Polices and Procedures Manual:  Representative Cole, Representative Darby and Representative Button. The Chair directed the subcommittee to work with the executive director of the House Business Office to update the manual and to complete its work expeditiously.

At 9:09 a.m., on the motion of Representative Geren and without objection, the meeting was adjourned subject to the call of the chair.

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Rep. Geren, Chair

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Terri Mathis, Clerk