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On Tuesday, the Texas House voted for a new speaker in a race that will greatly impact the 2025 legislative session.

Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, was able to pick up enough votes from both Democrat and Republican members to secure the win after two rounds of voting.

Burrows defeated Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, after the two candidates went to a runoff. In the first round of voting, Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos, D-Richardson, did not receive as many votes as Burrows and Cook and was eliminated from the race.

Here’s how lawmakers voted in the runoff between Burrows and Cook:

AUSTIN, Texas – As the 89th Texas Legislature begins in Austin on Tuesday, lawmakers will again resume debate around familiar topics gaining steam across the state.

The Texas Legislature consists of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber with 150 members, and the Senate, which is the upper chamber with 31 members.

KSAT sat down with two political science professors in San Antonio to discuss some of the top issues likely to permeate throughout the Republican-led session.

Jon Taylor, department chair of political science and geography at the University of Texas at San Antonio, pointed to similarities in the dysfunction between lawmakers in Austin and Washington, D.C.

“It’s almost as though Austin has turned into a mini version of Washington, DC, particularly in terms of the US House versus the Texas House in the sense of they seem to be dysfunctional in trying to find a speaker, massive fights over that (and) factionalism within the Republican party,” Taylor said.

Electing a speaker is likely to be one of the first things on lawmakers’ agendas in the Texas House.

Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), pushed out by other party members, will soon give up the gavel.

Two candidates have drawn near-constant conversation in legislative circles as ideal candidates: David Cook (R-Mansfield) and Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock). A third candidate, Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos (D-Richardson) has not garnered as much attention.

While it is more than likely that a Republican will assume Phelan’s role, Trinity University Political Science Professor Juan Sepulveda said the question is much more about what kind of Republican will take charge and what they would want to push forward.

“This is really a battle within the Republican Party,” Sepulveda said. “This is not a question of ideology. This is not about being conservative or moderate or liberal. They are both very conservative leaders. But this is really about power.”

After a speaker is elected, members of the House will offer amendments to and vote on House rules that will define governance for the body’s work.

In a slight decrease from the last legislative session, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar projected Monday state lawmakers would have about $195 billion for the 2026-2028 budget, according to reporting by the Texas Tribune.

Throughout the session, lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget without overspending what is available.

Governor Greg Abbott will announce his list of priority items later, determining which legislation can be moved in the session’s first 60 days.

As the session begins and committees begin to hear bills, we can expect familiar topics around school vouchers, immigration and property taxes.

Tayor thinks some of San Antonio’s needs will be at the forefront, too.

“There is a real need to push and to think long-term, planning for things such as water, “Taylor said. ”Additionally, I think an area for at least an issue for San Antonio is to look for state support for in particular for transportation, public transportation, not just building freeways, but to build public transit systems.”

Another piece of legislation that could affect us locally is a bill filed by San Antonio Senator José Menéndez to address dangerous dog incidents.

“This is not a Democratic Party political issue. This is something we’ve been kind of seeing as a community. So. And he’s got and he’s been there long. He’s got good relationships. So it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s able to kind of get something done.

Related coverage on KSAT:

LOS ANGELES – At least 24 people have died in the fires that are rapidly spreading across California.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has since directed the deployment of 135 Texas first responders to help fight the West Coast fires and respond to emergencies.

The crews of first responders from Texas are made up of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, The Texas A&M Forest Service, the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System, and the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force.

The Alamo Strike Team, led by New Braunfels firefighter Jeremy VanAusdall, comprises 22 firefighters.

“We’re currently assigned to the Palisades fire in Malibu, California,” VanAusdall said.

The Alamo Strike Team has first responders from Bexar-Bulverde, Boerne, Canyon Lake, New Braunfels, Pharr, and Schertz.

“This is unprecedented weather for early January in California,” VanAusdall said. “To see weather patterns like this, to see this type of fire behavior this early in January. This is devastation beyond anything that I’ve ever seen.”

Three of the 22 members of the Alamo Strike Team are from New Braunfels.

“The pride for me is that our members aren’t just going to assist from an operations standpoint,” said the New Braunfels Fire Department Chief Ruy Lozano. “Many of them are leaders in those endeavors.”

One of those leaders is VanAusdall, who has been a firefighter for 25 years, and throughout those 25 years, he said nothing compares to what he is seeing in the Palisades right now.

“Humbled this morning to drive essentially from the West Side of the fire to the East Side of the fire all along the coastline and saw some pretty devastating sights,” VanAusdall said. “That’s something that I’ve never seen in my life for sure.”

While the devastation is unimaginable, the South Texas teams working on these fires are prepared.

“Last year alone, we did send out two different deployments,” said Chris Shadrock.

Shadrock works for the City of Boerne, which has one first responder fighting fires in California. The firefighter’s name is Santiago Anaya.

“Last year, we sent firefighters out to the Abilene-West Texas area, and then we also sent firefighters out to the Texas Panhandle Smokehouse Creek Fire, which ended up being the largest one in the state,” Shadrock said.

VanAusdall said they’re committed to 14 days of 24-hour and 24-hour off shifts. If South Texas services are needed beyond that timeframe, additional first responders are ready to serve.

“There is an anticipated wind event in the next in the next 24 hours,” VanAusdall said. “We’re essentially pre-positioning for initial attack on any fire that could happen, whether it’s from this fire or another one.”

He also said first responders are currently in the best possible scenario to attack these fires as wind speeds increase.

“There are over 5,000 firefighters assigned to this fire,” VanAusdall said. “There are crews strategically positioned around the entire perimeter of this fire today.”