It was a busy week in Austin as the 86th Texas Legislative Session entered its second week. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick were officially sworn into office for their second terms at their inauguration Tuesday. TSCRA staff were on hand for some of the festivities but spent much of the week discussing legislative priorities with lawmakers, their staff and allied industry partners.

In the legislature, work on the budget has already started, with public education funding capturing many of the headlines. Deciding how to apportion the state’s $250 billion biennial budget will be the biggest task that legislators must accomplish before the end of the session.

The Senate is expected to announce committee assignments as early as today, which will allow their work to begin in earnest next week. The House is typically slower to announce committee assignments. Representatives, however, have already submitted their preferences to the speaker’s office, so their announcement is likely to come soon.