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AUSTIN — Tarrant County House members secured several key positions of influence Thursday as new House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced long-awaited committee assignments that move the House toward its core mission of conducting hearings and enacting legislation. Four of the 11 House members who represent Tarrant County were named to a newly created committee that will essentially constitute the state’s version of the much-publicized government efficiency effort headed in Washington, D.C., by Texas-based billionaire and space mogul Elon Musk. The Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee will be headed by Southlake Republican Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, continuing his rise through the ranks of House leadership as he enters his eighth term in the capitol. Rep. Salman Bhojani, a Euless Democrat in his second term, was appointed vice chairman. Under rules approved by House members earlier this month, the 13-member DOGE committee is charged with the “elimination of inefficiencies in the provision of state services” and will be empowered to “detect fraud, waste and abuse” in state government entities. Several Tarrant members on the committee said they welcomed the opportunity to save taxpayer money and applauded Capriglione’s selection as chairman.  “Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability when it comes to government contracts,” Capriglione said in a statement to the Report. “We will hold contractors and government agencies to the highest standard, ensuring every penny spent earns a full return for the people.”Fort Worth Republican Rep. Charlie Geren was removed as speaker pro tem after serving a two-year term in the second-highest position, but will remain part of leadership as chairman of the House Administration Committee and a member of three other key committees. Rep. Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat, will be the new speaker pro tem, returning to a position he held previously.“That decision is not up to me. It’s only up to the speaker,” Geren said when asked about Burrows’ decision to appoint a new speaker pro tem. “All those appointments are made by the speaker. I had no input for or against.”  Geren, a Fort Worth rancher and barbecue restaurant owner who has been in the House since 2001, was also named to the House Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee. The committee will be in the spotlight again this year as the clearinghouse for gambling legislation — including a bill Geren filed Wednesday. If passed, the legislation would put a constitutional amendment authorizing casino gaming and sports wagering at destination resorts across Texas on the Nov. 3 ballot.Geren will continue to serve on the House General Investigating Committee, where he played a historic role in recommending the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton on corruption and charges, a case that ended when the Senate cleared Paxton by refusing to bring the case to a trial. Geren will also serve on the State Affairs Committee that typically hears many of the major bills that come before the Legislature.Two other Fort Worth House members will join Geren on licensing: Democrat Ramón Romero Jr., who also chairs the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, and freshman Republican John McQueeney, who announced his support for giving voters the option to legalize resort casinos during his campaign to replace then-state Rep. Craig Goldman, who was elected to Congress.Rep. David Cook, a three-term Mansfield Republican who ran unsuccessfully against Burrows in a monthslong race for speaker, said he was pleased with his committee assignments and saw no display of animosity from the speaker’s chair. He landed a key position as chair of the permanent Standing Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice under the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, which he said fits in with his “wheelhouse” as a family law specialist, adding that he is “just pleased to serve where the speaker put me.” Cook will also serve on Capriglione’s so-called DOGE Committee on government efficiency.Also named to the DOGE Committee was Rep. Tony Tinderholt, an Arlington Republican who was a leading supporter of Cook in the speaker’s race. Tinderholt said he was particularly pleased with his assignment to serve on the House Higher Education Committee, which he said gives him the opportunity ”to corral the crazy things that are happening at taxpayer expense in higher education.” In addition to heading the state’s emerging effort to combat government waste and misuse in an echo of the Musk-directed campaign in Washington, Capriglione was also named on the tax-writing House Ways & Means Committee and will serve on the panel’s permanent subcommittee on property tax appraisals.Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat who represents parts of Arlington and Grand Prairie, will chair that subcommittee — and has already introduced a bill that would require appraisal districts to appraise property annually. If passed, the legislation would make portions of the Tarrant Appraisal District’s reappraisal plan illegal. Rep. Nicole Collier, a Fort Worth Democrat, was tapped for a position to help shape state spending policy as a member of the budget-writing appropriations committee, along with public health. Romero will also serve on the Natural Resources Committee, which will oversee Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities in shaping adequate water supplies, and the Calendars Committee, which determines the flow of bills to the House floor.Second-term Rep. Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth and fellow Republican Rep. David Lowe of Fort Worth, one of the delegation’s two freshmen along with McQueeney, were named to the House Corrections Committee that oversees the state prison system. Lowe will also serve on Intergovernmental Affairs and Schatzline was named to Human Services.The Fort Worth Report’s Texas Legislative coverage is supported by Kelly Hart. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.Dave Montgomery is an Austin-based freelance reporter for the Fort Worth Report.