Looking for signed copies of bills? Here are some tips.
The signing deadline for the 87th Regular Session was Sunday, June 20.
Instructions on how to locate signed copies of bills and concurrent resolutions are available on the Legislative Reference Library (LRL) website. Click on the Signed copies of bills link located in the drop-down menu of the Legislation tab on our homepage.
87th Legislative Session
Bills and concurrent resolutions from the 87th Legislative Session that the governor signed were sent to the Secretary of State's office. These bills are available on the Bills and Resolutions page of the Secretary of State's website. Click on legislative bills on the drop-down menu under the Forms & Other Services tab.
On the Bills and Resolution page, use the drop-down menu to select one of the following types of bills: House Bills, House Concurrent Resolutions, House Joint Resolutions, Senate Bills, Senate Concurrent Resolutions, or Senate Joint Resolutions.
Using the Bill Lookup option on the Texas Legislature Online (TLO), you can find out whether a bill was signed by the governor or filed without the governor's signature by checking the Actions table. If a bill passed but was filed without the governor's signature, you will see the action, "Filed without the governor's signature." Bills filed without the governor's signature are also sent to the Secretary of State with the signatures of Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate.
On TLO, you can also view lists of bills based on a specific action by the governor.
1. On TLO's homepage, click on the "Reports" link under Additional searches.
2. The "General Reports" section has three lists of bills by the governor's action.
83rd — 86th Legislative Sessions
Signed copies of bills and concurrent resolutions enacted during the 83rd through the 86th Legislative Sessions (2013—2019) are available through the Legislative Archive System on the library's website.
For example, to obtain a signed copy of HB 36, 86th R.S. (2019), look for the "Signed legislation" link on the History page of the bill file.
78th — 86th Legislative Sessions
The University of North Texas Libraries provides access to images of signed copies of bills from the 78th throught the 86th Regular Sessions (2003—2019) in their Texas Laws and Resolutions Archive in The Portal to Texas History.
Prior to the 78th Legislative Session
Copies of signed bills older than the 78th Regular Session (2003) are available through the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC). Digitized copies of signed bills from the 1st through the 18th Legislative Sessions (1846—1883) are available in TSLAC's Texas Digital Archive. Please call (512) 463-5480 for more information about accessing copies of signed bills.
