DART Legislative Update: 89th State Session Underway

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Hello Karen,

The 89th Texas Legislative Session officially kicked off at noon on Tuesday, January 14. Our team is excited to continue our work with legislators and their staff to enhance mobility and drive economic growth in the North Texas region.

To that end, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday released the Texas Senate Committee appointments. The Senate Committee on Transportation this session will be chaired by Senator Robert Nichols (District 3), with Senator Royce West (District 23) serving as vice chair. The other committee members are:

Senator Paul Bettencourt (District 7)
Senator Brent Hagenbuch (District 30)
Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (District 20)
Senator Nathan Johnson (District 16)
Senator Phil King (District 10)
Senator Borris L. Miles (District 13)
Senator Charles Perry (District 28)

We are looking forward to working with these senators, several of whom represent North Texas districts.

For additional state legislative context on key transportation matters, we encourage you to review the recently published Senate Transportation Committee Interim Report to the 89th Legislature, as well as the House Committee on Transportation Interim Report to the 89th Legislature.

The Texas House of Representatives will debate proposed changes to the House Rules of Procedure, including an overhaul of standing committees, at 2 p.m. this afternoon. Transportation would be a permanent standing House committee, under the proposal. You can read a synopsis of the proposed changes here and watch the debate live here.

Welcoming New Legislators

Congratulations to the newest legislators who were sworn in last week to represent cities in the DART service area:

State Rep. Aicha Davis (District 109)
State Rep. Linda Garcia (District 107)
State Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez (District 115)

Our team looks forward to working with you and your staff members!

Key Dates To Know

Bill Filing Deadline: March 14, 2025
89th Legislative Session Ends: June 2, 2025
Last Day Governor Can Veto Bills: June 22, 2025

As we shared in last month's newsletter, the DART Board of Directors last year approved the agency's 2025 Legislative Agenda. The agenda includes a focus on critical issues with the potential to impact our riders and partners.

To better help you or your organization advocate for these Board-approved priorities, our team recently produced the DART Advocacy Toolkit. With key data, potential action items, and a list of some of our partner agencies, we hope this toolkit will serve as your guide to champion DART with your colleagues, legislators, and community members.

Explore DART's Advocacy Toolkit

-- DART's $2B Silver Line project nears completion with new milestone (Dallas Business Journal)

-- DART eyes boost to Plano service but downplays $55M funding plea (The Dallas Morning News)

-- DART, member cities have one last shot before Legislature gets involved (The Dallas Morning News)

Breakfast With Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson

DART's Cimajie Best, Jeamy Molina, and Damarcus Offord (pictured left to right with Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson), were in attendance for the annual Mayor's Address to the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Dallas Breakfast Group.

Mayor Johnson sat down for an insightful conversation with Chamber President & CEO Ken Malcolmson. Their discussion touched on the mayor's priorities, the 89th State Legislative Session, the recent City of Dallas Charter elections, and regional plans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Read more from The Dallas Morning News.