The Texas Legislature is looking more like the U.S. Congress. Last week the Republican-controlled state House approved new rules that prevent Democrats from serving as committee chairs, a move that reflects the Legislature’s rapid shift toward the Washington-style politics that shut the minority party out of powerful leadership posts.

Although Democrats will be prohibited from chairing the main legislative committees, the chamber voted to expand the powers they can have as vice chairs.

The proposed House rules would, however, require committee vice chairmanships to be given to minority party members, who are outnumbered 88-62.

Conservative activists in the GOP caucus called any power sharing with the minority party a betrayal of Republican voters.

New Texas House rules passed on Thursday prevent members of the minority party from holding influential committee chair positions. This change breaks a long-standing tradition in the chamber — and could signal that a contentious legislative session lies ahead.

However, the minority party has yet to muster any viable ... The largest contributor to individual Democratic candidates was the Texas Sands PAC, which gave $542,000. The group is lobbying ...

Under the Texas Constitution, the House and Senate cannot pass legislation during the first 60 days of a regular session, except for bills related to the governor’s emergency items.

While new House rules prevent Democrats from leading committees, it increases the power of the vice-chair position which will still give Democrats some say in legislation.

Will Texas House Republicans face censure following Speaker vote? Can they legally be removed from primary ballot?

Accusations of self-dealing and defamation have flown between the Arizona Democratic Party's chair, Yolanda Bejarano, and several board members.

The Republican-led Texas House voted Thursday to bar Democrats from holding powerful committee chair posts, ending a longstanding tradition that members credited with fostering a bipartisan spirit ...

By State Rep. Mitch Little It’s a tense time to be in the Texas House. The first two weeks of the legislative session have certainly been eventful, if not productive. To start, the House elected Speaker Dustin Burrows of Lubbock over the reform candidate,