Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst released the Senate committee assignments for the session Jan. 18. There are three committees on the Senate side that are of the most interest to public education advocates. They are the Senate Education Committee, which handles public education issues, the Senate State Affairs Committee, which handles TRS issues, and the Senate Finance Committee, which deals with the budget. It was no surprise that Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) would replace the retired Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) as the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Patrick, along with Dewhurst, have made their support for creating a private school voucher program very public. Patrick will be joined by returning members Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas), Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) and Sen. Leticia Van De Putte (D-San Antonio). Filling out the committee is new Vice Chair Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville), and Senators Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock), Ken Paxton (R- McKinney) and Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood). Several of these members have expressed opposition to vouchers. However, one must assume that there was some strategy involved in assigning these members to the committee. We will see how it plays out. Here are the rosters for the Finance and State Affairs committees Finance: Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands), Chair Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen), Vice-Chair Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) Sen. Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) Sen. Glen Hegar (R-Katy) Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Southside Place) Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound) Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) State Affairs: Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock), Chair Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville), Vice-Chair Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Southside Place) Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville) Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) Sen. Leticia Van De Putte (D-San Antonio) Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) You can find full Senate committee assignments here.