In Texas, the Rules of the House of Representatives of the State of Texas (Rule 8, Section 7) and the Senate Rules (Rule 7.04(a)) allow legislators to prefile bills "beginning the first Monday after the general election preceding the next regular legislative session."
Prefiling for the 87th Texas Legislature began on Monday, November 9, the first Monday after the general election on Tuesday, November 3. On November 9, a total of 541 bills and joint resolutions were filed in the House and Senate.
The following are the number of bills and joint resolutions prefiled during the first week of the 87th Regular Session:
| 87th Regular Session – Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions (11/09/2020–11/13/2020) |
|
|---|---|
| HB/HJR | 576 |
| SB/SJR | 169 |
| Total | 745 |
How do these numbers compare to previous sessions? The following are the number of bills and joint resolutions filed during the first week of the last four regular sessions:
| 86th Regular Session – Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions (11/12/2018–11/16/2018) |
|
|---|---|
| HB/HJR | 382 |
| SB/SJR | 184 |
| Total | 566 |
| 85th Regular Session – Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions (11/14/2016–11/18/2016) |
|
|---|---|
| HB/HJR | 389 |
| SB/SJR | 239 |
| Total | 628 |
| 84th Regular Session – Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions (11/10/2014–11/14/2014) |
|
|---|---|
| HB/HJR | 282 |
| SB/SJR | 172 |
| Total | 454 |
| 83rd Regular Session – Prefiled Bills and Joint Resolutions (11/12/2012-11/16/2012) |
|
|---|---|
| HB/HJR | 203 |
| SB/SJR | 106 |
| Total | 309 |
For a general overview of bill prefiling, see our previous blog post, Bill Prefiling FAQs.
