In Texas, the House Rules (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 88th Texas Legislature began on Monday, November 14, 2022, the first Monday after the general election on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. A total of 920 bills and resolutions were filed in the House and Senate on November 14, a record number for the first day of the prefiling period.
Below are statistics comparing all bills and resolutions filed during the prefiling period for the 71st Legislature (1989) to the 88th Legislature (2023).
For a general overview of bill prefiling, see our previous blog post, Bill Prefiling FAQs.