AUSTIN – Today the Senate Finance Committee dedicated its conference room in honor of Texas State Senator Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, who has served on the committee since 1997 and served as its chair from 2014 to 2022 – the first woman to hold that position.

“Having spent many long nights working on the budget at that conference table, I am deeply grateful for the room to be dedicated in my name. This conference room holds a lot of history. Many important funding decisions were made here – along with some wonderful personal memories. It is the perfect tribute,” Senator Nelson said.

"Senator Nelson has served the people of Texas with grit and grace. It has been an honor to work with her and to watch her lead the committee and even more so to be considered a friend. I know her presence will be felt throughout the Jane Nelson Conference Room for years to come," Senator Joan Huffman, R-Houston, who now chairs the committee, said.

Senator John Whitmire, D-Houston, who is the dean of the Senate, said, "Senator Nelson has set the bar high as the chair of Senate Finance. She was a tough negotiator, but always inclusive and willing to work with others. The Jane Nelson Conference Room is a well-deserved tribute to a Senator who worked hard, made a difference, and is someone I am proud to call my friend."

Currently in her 10th term, Senator Nelson has served for 29 years — the most for any Senate Republican. In 1992 she became the 10th woman, and the 3rd Republican woman, elected to the Senate. In 1998 she became the first Republican woman to chair a standing Senate committee when then-Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry named her chair of the Senate Health Committee — a position she held longer than any other Senator. She served as President Pro Tem of the Senate during the 78th Interim Period and was Governor for the Day in 2004. In 2014 she was appointed chair of the Senate Finance Committee, making her the first woman entrusted to chair a budget-writing committee in Texas. In 2019 she was the first woman to preside over opening day of the Texas Senate. She was re-elected in 2020 with the most votes any Texas Senate candidate has ever received.

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