On Wednesday afternoon, Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) announced his appointments for House Committees, laying out who will hold crucial positions of power over the bills considered during the state’s 84th Legislative Session.

The Committees will have their first meetings next week. In addition to the regular standing committees, Straus also created two new select committees, for a total of forty committees. Twenty-four of the committees have new chairs from last session. The appointments draw from across the different geographic areas of the state, and thirteen of the committees will be chaired by Democrats.

“These assignments reflect the makeup of the House,” said Straus in his press release announcing the appointments. “They also reflect a collaborative and results-oriented culture that has worked very well in recent years. The House is a place that encourages Members to find common ground and build consensus around serious solutions.”

Among the noteworthy appointments are the retention of Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi) to chair the Calendars Committee, which has vast powers over which bills can move to the floor for debate, and Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock (R-Killeen) as Public Education Chair. As Breitbart Texas reported, questions were raised about Aycock’s ability to impartially fulfill the duties of chairing that committee, considering his daughter’s work as an education lobbyist. Two days after the initial Breitbart Texas article on the issue, Aycock announced that his daughter was withdrawing her registration as a lobbyist, a move widely viewed as calculated to quiet objections to his reappointment as committee chair. Rep. John Zerwas (R-Richmond), Chair of the Higher Education Committee, is on record as opposing the repeal of Texas’ policy allowing children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition, according to The Texas Tribune.

The leadership positions appointed by Straus are as follows:

The full list of appointments, including the complete list of all members of the House committees, has been posted on the House website here. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R), who serves as President of the Senate, announced his committee appointments last month, as Breitbart Texas reported.

Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter @rumpfshaker.