Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The Texas House of Representatives has 150 members. The Texas Senate has 31 members.
(Source: Texas Constitution, Article III, Section 2)

The Texas House of Representatives is led by the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the House members at the beginning of each session.
(Source: Texas Constitution, Article III, Section 9(b))

The Texas Senate is led by the Lieutenant Governor, who is elected by the voters of Texas every four years.
(Source: Texas Constitution, Article IV, Section 16)

Members of the Texas House of Representatives serve two-year terms and members of the Texas Senate serve four-year terms. There are no term limits.
(Source: Texas Constitution, Article III, Sections 3 and 4)

On the first day of the next regular session after the election.
(Source: Texas Constitution, Article III, Sections 3 and 4)

Legislators earn $7,200 per year, plus a daily allowance (per diem) during sessions. The per diem is set by the Texas Ethics Commission in Texas Administrative Code Title 1, Part 2, Rule § 50.1. Most legislators also work separate, full-time jobs in addition to serving in the Texas Legislature.
(Source: Texas Constitution, Article 3, Section 24)

When the legislature is not in session, the Speaker and the Lt. Governor direct committees to conduct interim studies on key issues. Interim committees meet as often as necessary to conduct their studies. Reports from these committees are available in the library's committee information archive.

Use the Who Represents Me? tool.
The Library also provides helpful information on its Contacting your legislator page.

Search Texas Legislators: Past & Present.

The Texas Legislature meets in regular session in odd numbered years. The session begins at noon on the second Tuesday in January and lasts 140 calendar days.
(Source: Texas Constitution Article 3, Section 5)

The Governor can call special sessions to consider specific issues. Special sessions last no longer than 30 days and are limited to the topics designated by the Governor.
(Source: Texas Constitution Article 3, Section 40)

The first regular session began on February 16, 1846 and ended May 13, 1846. Start and end dates for all legislative sessions are listed on the library's Sessions and Years page.

This Latin phrase literally means "without day." Adjournment sine die marks the official end of a legislative session.

The Texas Constitution, Texas statutes, and the rules of the House and Senate set the procedure which a bill must follow in order to be passed into law. Generally:

• Legislators introduce bills.
• Bills must pass both the House and the Senate.
• Bills are sent to the Governor, who can sign them; file them without signature, which allows them to become law; or veto them.

For more information, see The Legislative Process in Texas

Legislators can start filing bills for a regular session on the first Monday after the general election before the session starts. Bill filing for a special session can begin 30 days prior to the start of the special session.
(Sources: Rule 8, Section 7 of the Rules of the Texas House of Representatives and Rule 7.04 of the Senate Rules)

Bills and joint resolutions on any topic may be introduced during the first 60 calendar days of the regular session. After that, four-fifths of the members present must vote to approve filing a bill, unless it is a local bill, emergency appropriation, or an emergency matter submitted by the governor.
(Sources: Rule 8, Section 8, Rules of the Texas House of Representatives and Rule 7.07 of the Senate Rules)

Bills that pass the House and Senate are sent to the Governor, who can sign them; veto them; or allow them to become law without signature.
If the bill is sent to the governor prior to the last 10 days of a session, the governor has 10 days, not counting Sundays, to act.
If a bill is sent to the governor in the last 10 days of a session (not counting Sundays), the governor has 20 days (counting Sundays) after final adjournment to act.
(Source: Texas Constitution Article IV, Section 14)

Yes, if the Legislature is in session it can override a veto with a vote of two-thirds of the members in each chamber.
(Source: Texas Constitution Article IV, Section 14)

There is some debate over this matter, however the 1875 Constitutional Convention removed the ability for the legislature to consider veto items from a previous session. Additional information can be found in the following resources:

• Postadjournment Veto (In Texas Legislative Council, Gubernatorial Veto: Powers, Procedures, and Override History (May 22, 1990), pp. 11-12).
• George D. Braden, et al., The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated Comparative Analysis (1977), pp. 333-334.
• Texplainer: Can a Veto Be Overturned After Sine Die?, Texas Tribune, retrieved 6/8/2011.

No, the governor may not veto joint resolutions proposing amendments to the state constitution.

Creating the Texas budget bill is a two year process:

• Agencies submit requests and strategic plans.
• The Legislative Budget Board drafts a budget.
• The House and Senate make changes.
• A final version is agreed upon in a Conference Committee.
• The Governor can veto specific items (line-item veto).
• The final budget starts on September 1 and lasts two years.

For more information visit the library's state budget page.

Most bills have an effective date clause that says when the bill will take effect. Generally, bills cannot become effective until at least 90 days after the session ends, unless two thirds of the legislature votes to allow it to take effect earlier.
(Source: Texas Constitution Article III, Section 39)

If a governor does not sign a bill by the bill's effective date, the bill will be effective the date the governor signs the bill, or the date the governor allowed it to become law without signing it, assuming the governor does not veto the bill.
(Source: Texas Constitution Article IV, Section 14)

Bills that do not make it completely through the legislative process die with the end of the session and are not automatically reintroduced during the next session.

In Texas, a filibuster is allowed only in the Senate. A filibuster occurs when one senator holds the floor through talking or long speeches, without sitting down or leaving the vicinity of the senator's desk. Although the primary purpose of a filibuster is usually to kill a bill, sometimes this is also done to reach a compromise or to delay a vote as long as possible. The filibuster must be on topic; the bill may be read but irrelevant books (i.e. a telephone book) may not be read.

In the House, although members may not use the filibuster, they can use a technique called chubbing. Chubbing is the legislative practice of debating one bill at great length to the detriment of other bills waiting to be heard. It is frequently practiced near the end of session on legislative days that have deadlines.

Votes by representatives are recorded in the House Journal and votes by senators are recorded in the Senate Journal. Check the bill history to see if a record vote was taken, then look up the vote in the House or Senate Journal.

Government Code 323.007 requires the Texas Legislative Council to arrange all of the statutes into topical codes. This process is known as the "Continuing Statutory Revision Program" and will eventually compile all laws into 27 topical codes. A non-substantive revision bill is legislation that presents the proposed language for all or part of one of these codes. See Section 8.09 of the TLC Drafting Manual for more information.

No. All bills to raise revenue must start in the House.
(Source: Texas Constitution, Article III, Section 33)

Legislative districts must be redrawn every ten years following the federal census. If the legislature does not approve new districts in the first session after census information is released, the Legislative Redistricting Board must meet and adopt a plan. For additional information see the Texas Legislative Council's Texas Redistricting page.
(Source: Texas Constitution, Article III, Section 28)

Use Texas Legislature Online.

Use the library's Legislative Archive System.

The basic steps in researching legislative history are discussed in the library's Legislative Intent Guide.