L to R: Larry Phillips (R) Sherman and Joe Pickett (D) El Paso during the Transportation and the 83rd Legislature section of The Texas Tribune's symposium held on the SMU campus.
L to R: Larry Phillips (R) Sherman and Joe Pickett (D) El Paso during the Transportation and the 83rd Legislature section of The Texas Tribune's symposium held on the SMU campus. Mark Graham

House Speaker Joe Straus on Friday appointed five Republicans and four Democrats to the new House Select Committee on Transportation Funding, Expenditures and Finance.

State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, will chair the committee, which lawmakers voted last session to create to find ways to improve the way the state funds transportation. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has created a corresponding Senate committee that is chaired by state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville.

“Transportation is a top priority for the Texas House,” Straus said in a statement. “This committee will take an extensive, objective look at the transportation solutions that best suit our people and our growing economy.”

Along with Pickett, the committee’s members are Republicans Larry Phillips of Sherman, Lyle Larson of San Antonio, Dan Huberty of Houston, Paul Workman of Austin and Ron Simmons of Carrollton and Democrats Armando Martinez of Weslaco, Ruth Jones McClendon of San Antonio and Sergio Muñoz Jr. of Palmview.

Aman Batheja was a political reporter and editor for the Tribune from 2012 to 2019. Previously he worked for eight years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, most of that time covering state and local politics....