The Chron says its the first test of Straus' leadership:
Rookie House Speaker Joe Straus, a popular Republican from San Antonio, faces his first big test this week as he considers who to pick for plum committee assignments — and who he'll have to disappoint.
Straus says he hopes to announce House committee choices this week, and despite his nice-guy persona, it will be impossible to make everyone happy.
"This requires you to basically tell all the House members how you rank them," said Ross Ramsey, editor of the political Web site Texas Weekly. "The people who get the really great committee assignments ... are kind of the leaders in the House."
All representatives in the 150-member House are assigned to committees — Appropriations and Public Education, for example — and that's where much of the work of the Legislature is done. It's where bills get their start and are crafted. Many of them die there, too. Being named chairman, or getting on a top panel like Appropriations, can be a great source of influence.
