AUSTIN (KXAN) — Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, has appointed Representative Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Capriglione will fill the role left vacant by Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond. Zerwas decided to not run again for re-election to the Texas House, instead joining the University of Texas System as executive vice-chancellor.

The House Appropriations Committee is the most important panel in the lower chamber, working with the Texas Senate Finance Committee to write the state’s two-year budgets.

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, will chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee. (KXAN Photo/Phil Prazan)
Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, will chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee. (KXAN Photo/Phil Prazan)

Rep. Capriglione currently serves on the committee and has been a member on multiple subcommittees, including chair of the subcommittee of Infrastructure, Resiliency, and Invest. He was first elected to the Texas House in 2012.

In the past, Rep. Capriglione has carried bills to open up the state’s public information laws, has irked some on the far-right of the Republican Party, and sparked the state’s effort to create a gold bullion depository.