Speaker of the House
Biography
State Representative Dustin Burrows was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas, where he graduated from Monterey High School. While at Monterey, he was active in Future Farmers of America, showed pigs, and served as a livestock judge, sparking a passion for supporting agriculture and farming programs for youth.
Dustin attended college in Memphis, Tennessee, but his educational pursuits brought him back to his hometown where he earned two degrees from Texas Tech University and has remained a diehard Red Raider fan.
Dustin was first elected to serve House District 83 in 2014. He previously chaired the Ways & Means Committee and sponsored the "Texas Property Tax Report and Transparency Act of 2019" which limited the increase of non-voter approved tax increases for cities and counties to 3.5%. Dustin was also the author of the "Texas Regulatory Consistency Act" in 2023, which restored regulatory authority to the state - rather than thousands of local governments - eliminating costly compliance burdens and fueling economic growth.
Dustin chaired the Investigative Committee on the Robb Elementary Shooting in 2022, which led to his authorship of House Bill 3, a historic school safety bill that included the requirement of an armed security person on every campus in Texas. Dustin has authored several pieces of legislation for first responders, including the creation of an Ombudsman for injured first responders; expansion of the definition of presumptive cancer claims; and, the passage of the Matt Dawson Act, which guarantees lifetime benefits for first responders injured in the line of duty.
Dustin is an unwavering champion for Texas Tech University and helped lead efforts to create its school of Veterinary Medicine and establish the Texas University Fund, which increased Tech's endowment by over $1 billion dollars. He also authored HB 1750, the Right to Farm bill, that limits the amount of regulatory power city governments have over farming operations. Additionally, he authored legislation combatting the abusive use of eminent domain, as well as legislation streamlining Texas lien statutes to remove redundant provisions, address various ambiguities, and provide for specific statutory forms for notice.
Most recently, Dustin has served as chair of the House Calendars Committee for the 87th and 88th legislative sessions. In March of 2024, he was appointed to the House Investigative Committee on the Panhandle Wildfires. In 2022, he was appointed by the Speaker of the Texas House to Chair the Uvalde shooting investigation. See links to full reports in the Media tab.
He is married to Elisabeth, whose South Texas family has deep roots in cattle ranching and the oil and gas industry. They are the proud parents of three boys, Davis, Whitby and Henry, all of whom are students in Lubbock ISD.
Powers & Duties
The speaker is the presiding officer of the house of representatives. The Texas Constitution requires the house of representatives, each time a new legislature convenes, to choose one of its own members to serve as speaker.
As presiding officer, the speaker maintains order during floor debate, recognizing legislators who wish to speak and ruling on procedural matters. The constitution also requires the speaker to sign all bills and joint resolutions passed by the legislature. As a member of the house of representatives, the speaker may vote on all questions before the house.
The other duties and responsibilities of the speaker are determined by the members of the house in the House Rules of Procedure, which are adopted by a majority vote of the members at the beginning of each regular session of the legislature. The members give the speaker the authority to appoint the membership of each standing committee, subject to rules on seniority, and to designate the chair and vice chair for each committee. Under the rules, the speaker is responsible for referring all proposed legislation to committee, subject to the committee jurisdictions set forth in the rules. The rules also allow the speaker to appoint conference committees, to create select committees, and to direct committees to conduct interim studies when the legislature is not in session.
Office Staff Directory
Speaker's Office (512) 463-1000
- Bob Duncan, Chief of Staff
- Zak Covar, Deputy Chief of Staff
- Tracy King, Sr. Advisor
- Paige Holzheauser, Director of Speaker Operations
- Matt Crow, District Affairs Coordinator
Speaker's Budget & Finance (512) 463-1100
- Andrew Blifford , Director of Finance
General Counsel (512) 463-1100
- Jimmy Skipton , General Counsel to the House & Policy Director
Speaker's Press Office (512) 463-1100
- Cait Wittman, Director of Communications