TADA’s 2025 Expectations PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The year 2025 promises to be a bellwether in politics. With the return of President Trump to the White House and Republican majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, there is a great deal of anticipation in what will happen at the federal level, and it is expected there will be significant changes in approach on both the regulatory and legislative fronts. In Texas, the Texas Legislature will again take center stage as we head into the 89th Regular Session. Not only did the state lead the nation in population growth again in 2024, but Texas added more residents than any other state for the 14th year in a row. This addition of 560,000 new residents has swelled our population to over 31 million. All of these new people, coupled with those of us who have called Texas our home for a long time, place additional strain on our infrastructure and create numerous opportunities and challenges. When the Texas Legislature begins its work, it will include a number of new faces — three in the Texas Senate (almost 10% of the body) and 32 in the Texas House (representing over 21% of the House). Each session provides new opportunities, but also new threats and a turnover of over 30% is certainly significant. While the Senate, under the leadership of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, expects a relatively run-of-the-mill opening, a showdown is expected to unfold in the House, where the first order of business after representatives take the oath of office will be selecting a new speaker. Whichever candidate ultimately prevails in this contest, we expect much of the focus this session to be on carryovers from past years like school vouchers, power grid reliability, property tax relief, water infrastructure, roads and highway funding, the cost of higher education, and health care reform. Since its leadership is largely unchanged, the Senate is expected to organize much more quickly. While all 31 members of the Senate are important to us, a majority of legislation impacting Texas franchised auto dealers goes through two key committees — Business & Commerce and Transportation. TADA will continue to do a great job making sure you know who serves on these committees and working to cultivate a relationship for our members with these committee members. As a significant employer, business and community leader, I hope you will reach out and offer to be a resource for these legislators. continued on pg. 8 By Darren Whitehurst, President, TADA DEALERS’ CHOICE 6
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