Although she is facing a 15-count indictment on corruption charges and has rarely showed up to the House so far this year, state Rep. Dawnna Dukes has maintained her seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

But that doesn’t mean Dukes is in the good graces of House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio. As one of the longest-serving members of the Legislature, Dukes, an Austin Democrat first elected in 1994, was able to place herself on the budget-writing committee through a provision of the House rules giving prerogative to senior members.

Dukes’ only other assignment is to serve on the International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. She was not named chair or vice-chair of any committee.

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Last session, she was the vice chairwoman of three panels: an Appropriations subcommittee on health and human services, the Select Committee on Emerging Trends in Texas Law Enforcement and the Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee.

After reneging on a promise to step down, Dukes last month cited her seat on Appropriations and her commitment to fixing the scandal-plagued Child Protective Services as reasons she decided to continue serving.

A week later, a Travis County grand jury indicted Dukes on two counts of misdemeanor abuse of official capacity and 13 counts of felony tampering with public records. Dukes has said she is innocent and will fight the charges in court.

Dukes has only attended four of the first 13 days that the House has met this year, according to the House journal. In the 2015 legislative session, Dukes missed 84 percent of House votes and 44 of 50 committee meetings, an American-Statesman investigation found.

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Dukes in 2015 cited medical issues stemming from a 2013 car crash as the reason for her absences, which was also the reason she gave when announcing in September that she would step down. On the first day of the 2017 Legislature, however, she told reporters her health had improved and her doctor had said she was fit to serve.

Dukes did not immediately return a request for comment.