Dennis Bonnen
Dennis Higgins Bonnen is the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Bonnen is a Republican who has been the Representative for District 25 of the Texas House since 1997. In 2013, he was appointed by Speaker Joe Straus as the Speaker Pro Tempore, in which capacity he acted as the presiding officer of the House in the Speaker's absence. On November 12, 2018, Bonnen announced he had 109 votes to be the next Texas House Speaker, more than the 76 votes needed for election. On January 8, 2019, Bonnen was unanimously elected by the Texas House of Representatives to serve as Speaker of the House.
On August 12, 2019, the Texas House General Investigating Committee voted unanimously to ask the Texas Rangers's Public Integrity Unit to investigate a June 12, 2019 meeting between Bonnen and Republican caucus chair Dustin Burrows and Michael Quinn Sullivan for "reasonable suspicion" that Bonnen engaged in "potential criminal behavior," which would include "the quid pro quo offer of media credentials in exchange for political targeting" of Republican House members that Bonnen wanted defeated at the polls." Bonnen has apologized for saying "terrible things" during the June 12 meeting and Burrows has resigned as Republican caucus chairman. On October 22, 2019, Bonnen announced he would not be running for re-election, paving the way for a new House speaker in the next session of the House.
Background
A native of Angleton, Texas, Bonnen resides in Lake Jackson. A son of David and Matina Bonnen, he graduated in 1990 from Angleton High School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1994 from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. St. Edwards granted Bonnen its "Alumni Achievement Award" in 2001. While in college, Bonnen was in 1993 the sergeant-at-arms of the Texas House of Representatives. In 1995, he was a member of the advance team for Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole of Kansas. Bonnen won his legislative seat in 1996, as Dole was losing his presidential bid to Bill Clinton though Dole still carried the electoral votes of Texas.Bonnen is the chief executive officer of Heritage Bank in Pearland.
In 2009, the Houston Business Journal honored Bonnen with one of its inaugural "40 Under 40" awards, which recognize the top young business professionals in the Houston area. He is the honorary chairman of the "Count on Us" campaign at Brazosport College, a community college in his district.
Early political career
2007 voting record
In 2007, Bonnen sponsored legislation to block Republican Governor Rick Perry from introducing a mandate that sixth-grade girls be vaccinated against human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer.2011 voting record
In 2011, Bonnen voted against an amendment to legislation to ban smoking in public places, but the measure passed, 73–66. He approved a measure to reduce funding for state agencies. He voted to require women procuring an abortion to first undergo a sonogram. Bonnen opposed legislation to establish corporal punishment as a method of discipline in public schools, but the measure passed, 84–55.The conservative Heritage Alliance rated him 77 percent in 2009.
House leadership political career
Tenure Speaker Pro Tempore 2013-2018
In 2013, he was appointed by Speaker Joe Straus as the Speaker Pro Tempore, in which capacity he acted as the presiding officer of the House in the Speaker's absence, during the 83rd, 84th and 85th session of the Texas legislature, from 2013 to 2018. He also served as chairman of the . He previously served as chairman of the Sunset Advisory Commission and the House Special Purpose Districts Committee, and as vice chair of the Joint Committee of Oversight of Higher Education Governance, Excellence & Transparency. He also served on the Natural Resources Committee.2013 voting record
In 2013, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party, rated Bonnen 87 percent favorable. The Young Conservatives of Texas rated him a cumulative career score of 66 percent.Bonnen in 2013 was ranked 63 percent by the Texas League of Conservation Voters and 15 percent by the Sierra Club. Another interest group, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, founded by Michael Quinn Sullivan, rated him 60 percent in 2013, 88 percent in 2011, and named him a "2011 Taxpayer Champion". The Texas Association of Business and the National Rifle Association gave him scores of 86 percent and 100 percent, respectively.
In July 2014, Bonnen made a remark in a committee hearing referring to children displaced from Hurricane Katrina as "coonasses". Media reports characterized his use of the term as "derogatory", "offensive," and a "vulgar slang term."
2015 voting record
In 2015, Bonnen authored legislation deemed an emergency item by Governor Abbott to keep the Texas National Guard troops at the border, increase staff at the Department of Public Safety, and establish a transnational crime center on the border to analyze crime data. Bonnen voted against a taxpayer-funded breakfast program for public schools; the measure passed the House, 73–58. He co-sponsored legislation to provide marshals for school security as a separate category of law enforcement officials. He did not vote on the bill requiring the immunization of minors without parental consent, a measure which the House nevertheless approved, 71–61. He also did not vote on an "equal pay for women" measure, which passed the House, 78–61. He co-sponsored the law to extend the franchise tax exemption to certain businesses. Bonnen voted to prohibit texting while driving. He voted to require testing for narcotics of those receiving unemployment compensation. He co-sponsored two pieces of legislation to forbid the state from enforcing federal regulations of firearms and to allow college and university officials to carry concealed weapons in the name of campus security. He co-sponsored legislation to reduce the time required for an individual to procure training to obtain a concealed handgun license; the measure cleared the House, 116–30. He voted for the redistricting bills for the state House, the Texas Senate, and the United States House of Representatives. He did not vote on a bill establishing term limits for certain state officials, and the resolution failed on the House floor.2017 voting record
He received an A rating by the National Rifle Association in 2018.Texas House Speakership 2019 to present
On November 12, 2018, Bonnen announced he had 109 votes to be the next Texas House Speaker, more than the 76 votes needed for election. On January 8, 2019, Bonnen was unanimously elected by the Texas House of Representatives to serve as Speaker of the House.In his opening remarks as Speaker of the House, Bonnen declared school finance legislation to be the number one priority for the 86th legislative session, in addition to school safety, combating human trafficking and providing property tax relief. The Texas House passed House Bill 3, its $11.6 billion school finance measure, which includes about $4.5 billion in new spending for education reforms, $2 billion for teacher pay raises, and over $5 billion to lower Texans’ property tax bills. The Legislature also passed legislation to eliminate the rape kit backlog, slow the growth of property taxes, and improve emergency preparedness and disaster response. On June 21, 2019, Bonnen joined Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick at a press conference to announce that Texas would deploy an additional 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the border amid the migrant surge.
2019 voting record
Bonnen voted in support of legislation to ban sanctuary cities in Texas, legalize open carry, authorize concealed carry on college campuses, require Voter ID, permit religious organizations to decline to perform marriage services, require the Texas Rangers to investigate public corruption, and require colleges and universities to fund student centers for family and traditional values. In 2019, he voted in support of House Bill 3, legislation that invested an additional $4.5 billion in education, $2 billion for teacher pay raises, and $5 billion in property tax relief. He also voted for HJR 38 to authorize a constitutional amendment banning a state income tax, a measure that passed the House 100–42.Texas Monthly named Bonnen as a Best Lawmaker in June 2019 for his work as Speaker of the Texas House of Representative during Texas' 86th Legislative Session. The Conservative Roundtable of Texas rated Bonnen a 94 percent on their Conservative Effectiveness Index in 2017, a 100 percent in 2015, and a 100 percent in 2012.
Gun rights confrontation controversy
On March 27, 2019, state troopers were called to Bonnen's home to talk to executive director for Texas Gun Rights Chris McNutt while Bonnen was in Austin for budget deliberations. McNutt also visited the homes of other lawmakers during the legislative session. Bonnen alleged McNutt engaged in threatening behavior while trying to pass a bill, claiming that the purpose of his visit was to intimidate lawmakers. McNutt stated that Bonnen's allegations were a deliberate exaggeration of his actions while canvassing Bonnen's neighborhood with flyers, which alerted Bonnen's constituents to call him to advance a Constitutional Carry bill, House Bill 357. In April 2019, the bill's author, Jonathan Stickland, withdrew his request for the bill to be heard in committee as a result and issued a statement encouraging activists not to visit the homes of lawmakers. Bonnen alleged that McNutt's actions were the reason he declared McNutt's bill dead.Bonnen received death threats and threats of physical harm from gun rights advocates, releasing evidence to the media. In a statement to the Dallas Morning News, McNutt said the individuals making the threats were not affiliated with Texas Gun Rights in any manner. The editorial boards of the several newspapers later issued editorials in support of Bonnen and against the tactics used by gun rights activists pushing for constitutional carry.
Bodycam footage obtained from the Texas Department of Public Safety was released to the public by the founder of Open Carry Texas, CJ Grisham. The footage showed state troopers confronting McNutt at Bonnen's home after he had previously visited the homes of other lawmakers. According to text added to the video by Grisham, Bonnen's media narrative surrounding McNutt was false and the DPS footage exonerated McNutt of Bonnen's claims.
Bonnen was later invited to a Republican Party fundraising dinner and was seated in close proximity to McNutt and other gun rights activists. Bonnen confronted McNutt and then left before his scheduled speaking engagement. Gun rights advocates claimed that Bonnen was an aggressor, but Bonnen claimed that it was a setup.
On April 23, McNutt was joined by Dudley Brown, President of the National Association for Gun Rights, and attorney Jesse Binnall, at a press conference in Austin to demand a retraction and an apology from Bonnen for his statements about McNutt in the media. McNutt also said he was considering legal actions against Bonnen. Bonnen alleged that McNutt flashed his gun while visiting lawmakers’ local district offices, but McNutt claimed he was unarmed.
Bonnenghazi controversy
Bonnen was involved in a June 12, 2019 meeting between Republican caucus chair Dustin Burrows and Michael Quinn Sullivan of Empower Texans. At the meeting Burrows allegedly presented Sullivan with a "hit list" of Republican members both Burrows and Bonnen would like to see the organization defeat politically in the 2020 Republican primaries in exchange for House media credentials for Sullivan's group. Bonnen hoped to stop Sullivan's Empower Texans from criticizing him and his fellow Republican's efforts in the 86th Session. Speaker Bonnen explicitly denied the allegations made by Sullivan. A member of the alleged "hit list", Ernest Bailes, has called upon Burrows to answer for his alleged involvement, stating the "deft silence only solidifies truth within the allegations." On August 12, 2019, the Texas House General Investigating Committee voted unanimously to ask the Texas Rangers's Public Integrity Unit to investigate for "reasonable suspicion" that Bonnen engaged in "potential criminal behavior," which would include "the quid pro quo offer of media credentials in exchange for political targeting" of Republican House members that Bonnen wanted defeated at the polls." Bonnen has apologized for saying "terrible things" during the June 12 meeting and Burrows resigned as Republican caucus chairman.In the aftermath of the secret meeting, Bonnen issued an apology, on August 6, for saying "terrible things" during the June 12th meeting and on August 16, Burrows resigned as Republican caucus chairman. On August 19, the Dallas Morning News reported that Republican state representative Jim Murphy and Sullivan associate Daniel Greer stated that after listening to the secret recording, the "list" from which Burrows read was the names of Republican House members who had voted against a bill, House Bill 281 authored by state house representative Mayes Middleton, popular with conservatives, prohibiting the ability of local governments, like cities and counties, to spend public funds on lobbying activities.
On August 20, 2019, the Montgomery County, Texas Republican Party county executive committee became the fourth Republican county party to censure Bonnen, joining Denton, Polk, and Nueces counties.
Political positions
Abortion
In the 2019 legislative session, Bonnen supported the Infant Born Alive Protection Act granting protections to babies who survive attempted abortions, which passed the House 93–1. Under Speaker Bonnen, the House also passed Senate Bill 22 to prohibit cities or counties from transacting taxpayer dollars, goods, or services with abortion providers or their affiliates. In the 2013 legislative session, Bonnen supported a ban on abortion after twenty weeks of gestation; the bill passed the House, 96–49. He backed companion legislation co-sponsored by his physician brother to increase medical and licensing requirements of abortion providers. In their pro-life scorecard, Texas Right to Life rated him 100 percent in 2017, 100 percent in 2015, 100 percent in 2013, and 100 percent in 2011. Each year he was rated "zero" by the National Abortion Rights Action League.Political campaigns
1996 State representative campaign
When the Republican Representative Jack Harris did not seek reelection in 1996, Bonnen ran for the position in the Republican primary election. Dianne Hensley led a four-candidate field with 3,075 votes. Bonnen finished second with 2,706 votes, just 10 votes ahead of Arch Hartwell "Beaver" Aplin, III, of Angleton, who polled 2,696 votes. Dee Allen finished fourth with a critical 2,444. In the second round of balloting on April 9, 1996, Bonnen defeated Hensley, 3,939 to 3,273.In the general election on November 6, 1996, coinciding with the U.S. presidential election, Bonnen defeated Democratic candidate David S. Miller, 28,981 to 14,315. Bonnen has prevailed over his opponents since his initial election to the legislature.