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Dustin Burrows

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Dustin Burrows
Majority Leader of the Texas House of Representatives
In office
January 8, 2019 – August 16, 2019
Preceded byCindy Burkett
Succeeded byStephanie Klick
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 83rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 13, 2015
Preceded byCharles Perry
Personal details
Born
Dustin Ray Burrows

(1978-11-14) November 14, 1978 (age 46)
Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationRhodes College (BA)
Texas Tech University, Lubbock (MBA, JD)

Dustin Ray Burrows (born November 14, 1978) is an attorney and businessman in Lubbock, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 83. He has represented the 83rd district since January 2015. Burrows is the former Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and the former Chair of House Republican Caucus. He has sponsored legislation including the SB2 bill, enabling Texas taxpayers to control local tax rates and tax increases. He also serves as the Chairman of the House Calendars Committee, a position he has held since 2021.

Early life, education, and career

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Burrows graduated from Monterey High School in Lubbock.[1] Burrows is licensed to practice law in New Mexico and Texas and was a partner in the Texas firm McCleskey, Harriger, Brazill, & Graff.[2]

Legislative career

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Texas House of Representatives

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Nomination and election

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Burrows was nominated by the Terry County Republican Party to run for the Texas House of Representatives in 2014, representing the 83rd District.[3] He won the general election for the position in November 2014, beating Democratic opponent Max R. Tarbox with 81.2 percent of the vote.[4][5][6] He was re-elected in 2016, running unopposed.[7]

Re-election, Chair of House Republican Caucus

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He was re-elected to the House for his third legislative session in 2018, defeating Democrat Drew Landry with 77.3 percent of the vote.[8] After the election, Burrows was elected as Chair of the House Republican Caucus, and was appointed to chair the Ways and Means Committee.[9]

In this capacity Burrows authored the HB2 bill, which enables Texas taxpayers to control local tax rates and tax increases.[10] The legislation was partnered with another piece of legislation which dealt with public school finance reform, HB3; that bill provides almost $5 billion in property tax relief and increased the state's share of school funding.[11]

In addition to these bills, Burrows was behind legislation supporting Texas firefighters, an issue he had begun to successfully address during the prior session.[12] During the 86th Session, Burrows co-authored House Bill 1521 – "which would penalize insurers that illegally deny Texas first responders access to medical treatment for line-of-duty injuries covered under state workers’ compensation laws. This proposed legislation would amend Section 415.021 of the Labor Code to add sanctions, administrative penalties, and other remedies, including attorney's fees, for administrative violations by self- or collectively insured municipalities obligated to cover eligible workers’ compensation claims. The amount of the administrative penalty shall not be less than two times the total amount of benefits payable in connection with the first responder employee's claim."[13]

HB 1525 – also authored by Burrows, Flower Mound Republican senator Jane Nelson and Dallas Democratic senator Royce West, will enable Texas to collect more than half a billion dollars over the next two years after enforcing the state's sales tax across state lines. Prior to this legislation, the state could only force sellers to collect Texas sales tax if they had a physical location in Texas, putting small businesses at a financial disadvantage.[14]

Burrows was present at a 2019 meeting with Empower Texans CEO Michael Quinn Sullivan and Dennis Bonnen, where Sullivan later accused them of offering press credentials in exchange for targeting moderate Republican members seeking re-election.[15] Burrows resigned as Republican Caucus chairman following the accusation.[16] An investigation by the Texas Rangers ultimately concluded that no laws were broken in the exchange.[17]

Re-election, Chair to the House Calendars Committee

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On August 22, 2019, Burrows announced he would seek re-election and was endorsed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.[18] He ran unopposed in the 2020 Republican primary[19] and defeated Democrat Addison Perry-Franks in the general election with 79.29 percent of the vote.[20] After the election, Burrows was assigned as the Chair to the House Calendars Committee, overseeing the timeline and order for bills to reach the House floor.[21]

Burrows and Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) introduced legislation to reprimand any localities who choose to use a loophole in the State's property tax code.[22] Burrows spearheaded an ultimately successful effort to have gun stores in Texas declared essential businesses, allowing them to choose to open during the State's COVID-19 lockdown.[23][24] During the regular Session, Burrows supported local political efforts in Lubbock, Texas to outlaw abortion at the local level.[25] After the Dallas Mavericks reportedly stopped playing the national anthem before games, Burrows supported suspending tax-subsidies for stadiums that stopped playing the anthem.[26]

Burrows chaired the investigate Committee on the Robb Elementary Shooting in 2022.[27] He also authored House Bill 3 which required armed security on school campuses in Texas.[28]

Run for Speaker of the House (2024)

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In 2024, Burrows ran against David Cook for Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives after then speaker Dade Phelan announced he would not seek to retain the position.[29][30]

Committee assignments

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  • 88th Legislative Session[31]
    • Chairman, Calendars
    • Elections
    • Higher Education
    • Sustainable Property Tax Relief, Select Study
    • The Panhandle Wildfires, Investigative
  • 87th Legislative Session[32]
    • Chairman, Calendars
    • Corrections
    • Land & Resource Management
    • Chairman, The Robb Elementary Shooting, Investigative
  • 86th Legislative Session[33]
    • Elections
    • Chairman, Ways & Means
  • 85th Legislative Session[34]
    • Agriculture & Livestock
    • Investments & Financial Services
  • 84th Legislative Session[35]
    • County Affairs
    • International Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs

Personal life

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Burrows is married to the former Elisabeth Hause, who grew up in South Texas in a family engaged in cattle ranching and oil and natural gas. They have three sons.[36] The family is evangelical Christian.[37]

References

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  1. ^ "Burrows Law website".
  2. ^ "Alumnus and Attorney Dustin Burrows Recognized as a Rising Star in Texas". Rhodes College. May 5, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  3. ^ Rangel, Enrique (August 21, 2014). "GOP reps pick Lubbock attorney Burrows as House 83 candidate". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  4. ^ Rangel, Enrique (September 4, 2015). "Bosquez considers challenge to Price". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  5. ^ "General election returns, November 4, 2014". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  6. ^ Enrique Rangel (November 6, 2014). "After landslide, Dustin Burrows ready to start working, take advice from colleagues: 'Freshman orientation,' hiring office staff on early agenda for state rep.-elect". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  7. ^ Snyder, Rob (June 29, 2017). "State Representative Dustin Burrows Announces 2018 Re-Election Bid on Pratt on Texas". KFYO News Talk. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "Election Returns". Texas Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  9. ^ "Burrows selected to chair House Ways and Means Committee". KCBD. January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  10. ^ "Ft. Worth Star Telegram".
  11. ^ "The Texan". June 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "Lubbock Avalanche Journal".
  13. ^ "KCBD Television".
  14. ^ "KXAN Austin". May 7, 2019.
  15. ^ Pollock, Cassandra (August 16, 2019). "Dustin Burrows resigns as Texas House GOP Caucus chairman amid allegations of targeting Republicans". Texas Tribune.
  16. ^ Pollock, Cassandra (August 16, 2019). "Dustin Burrows resigns as Texas House GOP Caucus chairman amid allegations of targeting Republicans". Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  17. ^ Pollock, Cassandra (October 24, 2019). "Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen won't face criminal prosecution, Brazoria County DA says". Texas Tribune.
  18. ^ "Gov. Greg Abbott press release". August 22, 2019.
  19. ^ "Lubbock Primary Ballot Set".
  20. ^ Avalanche Journal. ""No Blue Wave"".
  21. ^ Pollock, Cassandra (February 4, 2021). "Speaker Dade Phelan shakes up Texas House leadership with new chairs on key committees". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Lawmakers Suggest Penalty for Localities Hiking Up Property Taxes with Loophole | The Texan". June 8, 2020.
  23. ^ "Texas gun stores are essential businesses, may stay open during the pandemic, attorney general says | Coronavirus | news-journal.com".
  24. ^ "TX gun stores stay open during coronavirus closures, AG says | Fort Worth Star-Telegram".
  25. ^ "Lubbock Rejects Proposal to Outlaw Abortion Despite Petition, Lawmaker Support | The Texan". October 15, 2020.
  26. ^ "Dan Patrick introduces "Star Spangled Banner Act" after Mavericks stopped playing national anthem | The Texas Tribune". February 10, 2021.
  27. ^ Rosiles, Mateo (December 8, 2024). "Who is Dustin Burrows? What you need to know about the Texas House Speaker hopeful". Times Record News. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  28. ^ Heath, Keri (April 25, 2023). "Texas House advances bill requiring armed employee at all schools. Here's what's proposed". Austin American Statesman. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  29. ^ Elbein, Saul (December 10, 2024). "Acrimonious Texas House Speaker race divides state's Republicans". The Hill. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  30. ^ Moritz, John (December 8, 2024). "Dade Phelan's reluctant relinquishment of Texas House speakership is part of a pattern". Austin American Statesman. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  31. ^ "88th Legislature Regular Session - Committee Assignments - Rep. Dustin Burrows". Texas Legislature Online. Committee Assignments. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  32. ^ "87th Legislature Regular Session - Committee Assignments - Rep. Dustin Burrows". Texas Legislature Online. Committee Assignments. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  33. ^ "86th Legislature Regular Session - Committee Assignments - Rep. Dustin Burrows". Texas Legislature Online. Committee Assignments. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  34. ^ "85th Legislature Regular Session - Committee Assignments - Rep. Dustin Burrows". Texas Legislature Online. Committee Assignments. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  35. ^ "84th Legislature Regular Session - Committee Assignments - Rep. Dustin Burrows". Texas Legislature Online. Committee Assignments. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  36. ^ "Official site Texas House".
  37. ^ "About Dustin Burrows – Candidate for Texas House District 83 Representative". burrows4texas.com. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
[edit]
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 83rd district
2015–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Majority Leader of the Texas House of Representatives
2019 		Succeeded by
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