Tense moment in Texas House committee over DEI policies leaves agency head in tears
AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- A usually mundane House Appropriations Committee hearing became tense as a Republican lawmaker probed members of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), including two Black officials, about their hiring practices and accusing them of discrimination.
L'Oreal Stepney, the chair of the TWDB, was there to present the agency's financial request for the upcoming biennium but was ultimately left in tears during her testimony over an exchange about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
State Rep. Brian Harrison, R - Midlothian, questioned a sentence in the agency's most recent strategic plan that reads, "As society becomes more diverse the TWDB workforce must mirror this diversity."
Stepney and Edna Jackson, the deputy executive administrator for the TWDB, were both there to answer questions from Harrison.
"So why do you have this on your strategic plan and have you in fact been engaged in race-based employment decisions to mirror society in general," Harrison questioned. Members of the agency denied any race-based employment practices.
Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Jan. 31 this year directing state agencies to ban DEI policies.
"I would believe this is facially unconstitutional because we should not be discriminating on the basis of race for employment decisions," Harrison said during the meeting.
Rep. Nicole Collier, D - Fort Worth, criticized Harrison's line of questioning and said it was offensive to her and Black people. "I'm tired of having to justify my blackness," Collier said. "If someone feels inferior to me because I am Black then that is a matter that has to do with them, not me."
“So I want to thank you so much for doing your job based on your qualifications as a person. And I appreciate you and I see you. And I said that for not just myself, I said it for all Black women and all women because sometimes we all get, we all get the short end of the stick on that," Collier said.
Collier and her Democratic colleague Rep. Armando Walle, D - Houston, consoled Stepney before the 33-year government employee spoke about her career.
"I have protected the drinking water supply of 31 million Texans. I've sat across the table from IBWC and Mexico and made sure they delivered water to Texas," Stepeny said. "I went to bat for Texas and it has been my life's honor."
The exchange gained attention all around the Capitol including Texas' Big 3 -- Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows. The governor took to X to say, "Water is one of the most important issues that the State of Texas will address this session. There is no one better and no one I have more confidence in to lead and implement our water solutions than TWDB Chairwoman L'Oreal Stepney."
Burrows said, "House Members are afforded great latitude to ask probing questions; however, I expect all public servants to be treated with utmost respect and decency in the Texas House."
Harrison stands by his questioning and said it was a "fantastic and professional exchange," and added he asked the same questions to other agencies before the Appropriations committee earlier in the week. He also said he did not call Stepney's qualifications into question.
"At no point in time did I ever think about or even discuss her qualifications. The only person who brought up her qualifications were two Democrats on the committee," Harrison explained.
The tense moment in the Capitol comes at a time when many officeholders are attacking DEI policies nationwide. Eric McDaniel, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the Co-Director of the Politics of Race Ethnicity Lab, said there has been increasing distrust in institutions and the belief that the government is failing because we have incompetent or corrupt bureaucrats.
He argues there is a disconnect on what DEI is. He said DEI is usually tied to race, but it also relates to veteran status, age, disability and women who recently had children. "DEI really is about trying to set up an environment in which people from all walks of life can come in and contribute to an organization. But also normalizing the fact that people can be different but still be skilled and take on leadership roles," McDaniel explained.
He relates attacks on DEI to a witch hunt. He said opponents of DEI see the policy as a zero-sum gain. "That a success for one is a loss for another, but the data has shown that when you create a more equitable work place, that it actually benefits everyone," McDaniel explained.
McDaniel watched the exchange at the Appropriations committee and said Harrison came off as trying to publicly humiliate Stepney, even if that was not his intended purpose. He does caution continued attacks could have harmful impacts in the future.
"It will be a concern about when have you gone too far? When does this lead to a witch hunt where we are chasing out highly qualified people," McDaniel questioned.