Texas Legislature

Last updated

Texas State Legislature
Seal of the state of texas.svg
Type
Type
Houses Senate
House of Representatives
History
FoundedMarch 10, 1836 (1836-03-10)
Leadership
Dan Patrick (R)
since January 20, 2015
Dade Phelan (R)
since January 12, 2021
Structure
Seats181
31 Senators
150 Representatives
Texas Senate 2022.svg
Senate political groups
  •    Republican  (19)
  •    Democratic  (12)
Texas House 2022.svg
House political groups
Elections
Last Senate election
November 8, 2022
Last House election
November 8, 2022
Next Senate election
November 5, 2024
Next House election
November 5, 2024
Meeting place
Texas State Capitol building-front left front oblique view.JPG
Texas State Capitol, Austin
Website
https://capitol.texas.gov

The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful arm of the Texas government not only because of its power of the purse to control and direct the activities of state government and the strong constitutional connections between it and the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, but also due to Texas's plural executive.

Contents

The Legislature is the constitutional successor of the Congress of the Republic of Texas since Texas's 1845 entrance into the Union. The Legislature held its first regular session from February 16 to May 13, 1846.

The Legislature has completed its 88th session, and the next session is the 89th session, scheduled to convene on January 14, 2025 at noon (CST) after the 2024 Texas elections. [1]

Structure and operations

The Texas Legislature meets in regular session on the second Tuesday in January of each odd-numbered year. [2] The Texas Constitution limits the regular session to 140 calendar days. The lieutenant governor, elected statewide separately from the governor, presides over the Senate, while the Speaker of the House is elected from that body by its members. Both have wide latitude in choosing committee membership in their respective houses and have a large impact on lawmaking in the state.

Only the governor may call the Legislature into special sessions, unlike other states where the legislature may call itself into session. The governor may call as many sessions as desired. For example, Governor Rick Perry called three consecutive sessions to address the 2003 Texas congressional redistricting. The Texas Constitution limits the duration of each special session to 30 days; lawmakers may consider only those issues designated by the governor in his "call," or proclamation convening the special session (though other issues may be added by the Governor during a session).

Any bill passed by the Legislature takes effect 90 days after its passage unless two-thirds of each house votes to give the bill either immediate effect or earlier effect. The Legislature may provide for an effective date that is after the 90th day. Under current legislative practice, most bills are given an effective date of September 1 in odd-numbered years (September 1 is the start of the state's fiscal year).

Although members are elected on partisan ballots, both houses of the Legislature are officially organized on a nonpartisan basis, with members of both parties serving in leadership positions such as committee chairmanships. [3] [4] As of 2022, a majority of the members of each chamber are members of the Republican Party.

Qualifications for service

The Texas Constitution sets the qualifications for election to each house as follows: [5]

Salary of legislative officials

State legislators in Texas make $600 per month, or $7,200 per year, plus a per diem of $221 for every day the Legislature is in session (also including any special sessions). That adds up to $38,140 a year for a regular session (140 days), with the total pay for a two-year term being $45,340. [8] [9] Legislators receive a pension after eight years of service, starting at age 60. [10]

Makeup

Senate

Seal of the Texas State Senate. Seal of State Senate of Texas.svg
Seal of the Texas State Senate.
AffiliationMembers
  Republican Party 19
  Democratic Party 12
 Total
31
Senate Districts and Party Affiliation after the 2020 Election
Republican Party
Democratic Party TxSen2022Comp.svg
Senate Districts and Party Affiliation after the 2020 Election
  Republican Party
  Democratic Party

House of Representatives

Seal of the Texas House of Representatives. Seal of Texas House of Representatives.svg
Seal of the Texas House of Representatives.
AffiliationMembers
  Republican Party 86
  Democratic Party 64
 Total
150
House Districts and Party Affiliation after the 2020 Election
Republican Party
Democratic Party TxHouse2022Comp.svg
House Districts and Party Affiliation after the 2020 Election
  Republican Party
  Democratic Party

2021 House quorum bust

Article III, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution requires that 2/3 of a chamber's members be present to constitute a quorum for conducting business (this is greater than what is required for the United States Congress, which only requires a simple majority of a chamber's members). This has resulted in several instances where, in an effort to block legislation from passing, a sufficient number of members have fled the state in order to deny a quorum.

The most recent of these attempts took place during a 2021 special session of the Legislature. On July 12, 2021, during a special session, at least 51 Democratic members of the House fled the state in two charter jets bound for Washington, D.C., in an effort to block Republican-backed election legislation from passing. The lawmakers planned to spend at least three weeks in Washington, running out the clock on the special session, which began July 8. During their time away from the state legislative chambers, they also advocated for federal voting legislation such as the For the People Act. [11]

Governor Abbott stated that representatives, upon return to the state, would be arrested and escorted to the state legislative chambers to fulfill their lawmaking duties. He additionally noted he would use his power to call successive special sessions until such a time as the legislature met quorum to vote on the bill. [12] After the first special session expired on August 6, Governor Abbott called a second session the next day. State District Judge Brad Urrutia granted a restraining order on August 9 temporarily protecting the absent Democrats from arrest by the state, however this restraining order was overturned by the Texas Supreme Court. [13] On August 10, with the chamber still lacking a quorum, Speaker Dade Phelan issued arrest warrants for the 52 absent Democratic members of the House. [14] The bill passed upon the eventual return of enough state Democrats to constitute a quorum in the legislature.

Support agencies

The Texas Legislature has five support agencies that are within the legislative branch of state government.

Those five agencies are as follows:

Scandals

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quorum</span> Minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct business

A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly, a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, the "requirement for a quorum is protection against totally unrepresentative action in the name of the body by an unduly small number of persons." In contrast, a plenum is a meeting of the full body. A body, or a meeting or vote of it, is quorate if a quorum is present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska Legislature</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Alaska

The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives and the 20-member Alaska Senate. There are 40 House Districts (1–40) and 20 Senate Districts (A–T). With a total of 60 lawmakers, the Alaska Legislature is the smallest bicameral state legislature in the United States and the second-smallest of all state legislatures. There are no term limits for either chamber. The Alaska Legislature meets in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska. The current meeting since 2023 is the 33rd Alaska State Legislature. The previous meeting, the 32nd Alaska State Legislature, met from 2021 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado General Assembly</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Colorado

The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.). The session laws are published in the Session Laws of Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montana Legislature</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Montana

The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Mexico Legislature</span> Legislative branch of the state government of New Mexico

The New Mexico Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of New Mexico. It is a bicameral body made up of the New Mexico House of Representatives and the New Mexico Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaii State Legislature</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Hawaii

The Hawaii State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state legislature is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Hawaii State House of Representatives, with 51 representatives, and an upper house, the 25-member Hawaii State Senate. There are a total of 76 lawmakers in the legislature, each representing single member districts across the islands. The powers of the legislature are granted under Article III of the Constitution of Hawaii. The legislature convenes at the Hawaii State Capitol building in the state capital of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Legislature</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Florida

The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Constitution, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the legislature and how it is to be constituted. The legislature is composed of 160 state legislators. The primary purpose of the legislature is to enact new laws and amend or repeal existing laws. It meets in the Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida House of Representatives</span> Lower house of the Florida Legislature

The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The House is composed of 120 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 180,000 residents. Legislative districts are drawn on the basis of population figures, provided by the federal decennial census. Representatives' terms begin immediately upon their election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee General Assembly</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Tennessee

The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title and office of Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. In addition to passing a budget for state government plus other legislation, the General Assembly appoints three state officers specified by the state constitution. It is also the initiating body in any process to amend the state's constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi State Senate</span> Upper house for the legislature of the state of Mississippi

The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi Legislature</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Mississippi

The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 members. Both representatives and senators serve four-year terms without term limits. The Legislature convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Texas redistricting</span> Controversial redistricting of Texass districts for the U.S. House of Representatives

The 2003 Texas redistricting was a controversial intercensus state plan that defined new congressional districts. In the 2004 elections, this redistricting supported the Republicans taking a majority of Texas's federal House seats for the first time since Reconstruction. Democrats in both houses of the Texas Legislature staged walkouts, unsuccessfully trying to prevent the changes. Opponents challenged the plan in three suits, combined when the case went to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Senate</span> Upper house of the Florida Legislature

The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The Senate is composed of 40 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 540,000 residents. Legislative districts are drawn on the basis of population figures, provided by the federal decennial census. Senators' terms begin immediately upon their election. The Senate Chamber is located in the State Capitol building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama House of Representatives</span> Lower house of the Alabama legislature

The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no term limits in the House. The House is also one of the five lower houses of state legislatures in the United States that is elected every four years. Other lower houses, including the United States House of Representatives, are elected for a two-year term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma Legislature</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Oklahoma

The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 state representatives, each serving a two-year term, and 48 state senators, who serve four-year terms that are staggered so only half of the Oklahoma Senate districts are eligible in each election cycle. Legislators are elected directly by the people from single member districts of equal population. The Oklahoma Legislature meets annually in the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana State Legislature</span> Legislative branch of the state government of Louisiana

The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana State Senate with 39 senators. Members of each house are elected from single-member districts of roughly equal populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma House of Representatives</span> Lower house of Oklahomas legislature

The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's budget. The upper house of the Oklahoma Legislature is the Oklahoma Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">88th Texas Legislature</span> 2023 meeting of the Texas legislature

The 88th Texas Legislature was a meeting of the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Texas, composed of the Texas Senate and the Texas House of Representatives. The Texas State Legislature met in its regular session in Austin, Texas, from January 10, 2023 to May 29, 2023, followed by four consecutive special sessions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">82nd Oregon Legislative Assembly</span> The current legislative session of the Oregon Legislative Assembly

The 82nd Oregon Legislative Assembly is the current session of the Oregon Legislature. It began January 9, 2023.

The following is a list of events of the year 2023 in Texas.

References

  1. "Texas legislative sessions and years". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Government of Texas. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  2. Texas Government Code 301.001
  3. Svitek, Patrick (January 11, 2023). "Effort to ban Democratic chairs fails in Texas House, but rule passes to penalize future quorum-breakers". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  4. Barragán, James (January 23, 2023). "Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick unveils committee assignments with one Democratic chair". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  5. "Qualifications for Office". Sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  6. Texas House of Representatives – Frequently Asked Questions
  7. "The Texas Constitution Article 3. Legislative Department". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  8. "The Texas Constitution Article 3. Legislative Department". Statutes.legis.state.tx.us. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  9. "Chapter 50, Ethics Commission Rules". Ethics.state.tx.us. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  10. "Legislators With Benefits, Even When They Stray". The New York Times . April 12, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  11. Timm, Jane C. (July 12, 2021). "Texas Democrats flee state in effort to block GOP-backed voting restrictions". NBC News.
  12. Allen, Mike (July 13, 2021). "Texas Dems fly to Swamp to run out clock". Axios. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  13. Barrágan, James (August 10, 2021). "Texas Supreme Court allows for arrest of Democrats who don't show up to Legislature". The Texas Tribune.
  14. Blankley, Bethany (August 11, 2021). "Texas Speaker Phelan signs arrest warrants for 52 AWOL House Democrats". Tyler Morning Telegraph.
  15. 1 2 CBS Channel 42 KeyeTV Investigates: One Lawmaker, Many Votes?, May 14, 2007, available at "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG6X-xtVask"; see also Wilson, Nanci, One Lawmaker, Many Votes?, May 14, 2007, available at "www.keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_134224129.html" [ permanent dead link ]
  16. Hoppe, Christy (March 24, 2011). "Some Texas lawmakers cast votes for fellow members on bill Meant to Protect Elections". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  17. Svitek, Zach Despart, James Barragán and Patrick (April 10, 2023). "Complaint alleges Rep. Bryan Slaton had "inappropriate relationship" with an intern". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. Downen, Robert (May 9, 2023). "Texas House expels Bryan Slaton, first member ousted since 1927". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2023.

Further reading