Now, go back and click on those committee links on the History tab. (This part will only work in TLO.) You'll see a list of the committee members for that session, and on the right, a "Meetings" link. Click here to see a list of all of the meetings the committee conducted in that session. Find the hearing date you determined from the action list to access its hearing notice, minutes, and witness list. Since multiple bills often are considered in a single hearing, do a Control-F for your bill number to find the relevant sections. You can also look on the websites for each of the committees (House, Senate), as they sometimes include meeting handouts and transcripts for the current session.

 

 

You then can use the committee names and hearing dates to search for the relevant recordings in the house and senate video archives (for which links also are available on TLO and on the "Additional sources" tab in a LAS search). There is a chart in our legislative intent guide with more information about which dates are available online or on audio tape. Transcripts are rare, but House Video/Audio Services (512-463-0920) or Senate Staff Services (512-463-0430) may have transcripts or know if one exists (perhaps with the committee records) for a certain committee hearing.

 

Another avenue of committee testimony research is the LRL's committee minutes project, which makes available minutes and related documents for house, senate, and joint committees from the 63rd-74th Legislatures (1973-1995). Some have testimony transcripts--it is always worthwhile to check.

 

For example, a search in the committee minutes database for the Senate Committee on Finance, 72R (1991) yields 92 days' worth of scanned meeting minutes. Most of the documents summarize the proceedings of the meeting and simply make note when testimony was taken, but the March 5, 1991, minutes includes a transcript.

 

The committee minutes database includes interim committees, so even if you don't have a particular bill in mind, searching here can be helpful for many legislative history projects.

 

 

Cover image by Flickr user hyacinth50.

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60-Day Filing Deadline F.A.Q.:

When is the deadline for filing bills?

The deadline for filing bills and joint resolutions, other than local bills, emergency appropriations, and bills that have been declared an emergency by the governor, is the 60th calendar day after the legislature convenes for its regular session.

When is the 60-day filing deadline for the 85th regular session of the Texas Legislature?

Friday, March 10th, 2017.

Where can I find the other deadlines for the 85th regular session?

Other significant dates can be found on the Legislative Council's Dates of Interest page. The Texas Legislative Council also created a calendar showing deadlines for action under the House and Senate Rules for the last month of the regular session. End-of-session deadline calendars and dates of interest for previous sessions are available on our website: Session Deadline Calendars.

What happens next?

As indicated in Sec. 5(b), Art. III of the Texas Constitution, for the next 30 days of the regular legislative session, the committees of each chamber hold hearings to consider all bills, resolutions, and other undecided matters.

Did you know?:

• After the 60-day filing deadline during a regular session, any proposed bill or joint resolution requires permission to introduce by an affirmative vote of four-fifths of those members present and voting (see Senate Rule 7.07(b) and House Rule 8, Sec.8) Local bills, emergency appropriations, and emergency matters submitted by the governor are not subject to these rules.

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Every legislative session, about 20-30 agencies go through the Sunset process—the regular assessment of the continuing need for a state agency or program to exist. The Sunset Advisory Commission submitted its Report to the 85th Legislature on Friday, Feb. 10. Per Sunset procedures, an agency, program, policy, or law will be abolished on its "sunset" date unless the legislature passes a bill to continue it. Such bills often enact revised policies as recommended in the review process.

 

Wondering how you can find these bills? The Sunset Commission recently added a page dedicated to the 85th Legislature where you can see which agencies were reviewed and what bills have been filed. They also are tweeting Sunset bills as they are filed.

 

In addition, you can find Sunset bills on Texas Legislature Online. Select "Search" from the top navigation, and pull down to "Bill Search." From that screen, go to the Subjects section and click on "Select subject criteria." This will pull up the box as seen below. (If your pop-up blocker is enabled, you may have to tell it to allow this exception.) Do a search for "sunset," then select "Sunset--Commission Bills (I0772). Click on the right arrow to move it to your "Selected" subjects, then click OK to return to the main Bill Search screen.

 

From here, you can click on "Search" in the top right corner, and you will get your results. You can refine your results to particular subjects of interest, look back at past years' sunset bills, and more.

 

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The first day of the Regular Session is filled with activity and ceremony, and follows a schedule similar to first days past. The House and Senate journal entries for previous first days can be found on the library's website, and offer a glimpse into what to expect on January 10, 2017, when the 85th Texas Legislature convenes at noon.

Opening day of the 84th Legislative Session, January 13, 2015. Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman

83rd Texas Legislative Session on Opening Day: A Timelapse from texastribune on Vimeo.

In the Senate, the first day of session is called to order by the Lieutenant Governor, while in the House the Secretary of State acts as Master of Ceremonies until the Speaker is elected. In both chambers, a roll call of members is taken to establish a quorum, and an invocation is offered. Members-elect will also take the oath of office. For information about members of the Texas Legislature, please visit our Texas Legislators: Past & Present page. 

Senator Troy Fraser, right, with his granddaughter on the opening day of the 84th Regular Session in 2015. Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman

Representative Obie Jones with family during opening day of the 55th Legislature in 1957. Douglass, Neal. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

In the House, an important piece of business on opening day is the election of the Speaker. Because the Speaker is elected before the permanent rules of the House are adopted for the current session, a motion is usually adopted to temporarily use the rules of procedure from the previous session. Current and historical rules of the House and the Senate can be found on the library's website. Procedures for nomination and election of the Speaker are passed via resolution. In many past sessions, nominating speeches were not to exceed 5 minutes and seconding speeches were not to exceed 4 minutes. The nominating and seconding speeches as well as the final vote tally are often recorded in the House Journal, and the library has compiled these documents on its website. 

 

Thomas Reuben Bonner, Speaker of the Texas House during the 15th Legislature (1876).

Richard Bennett Hubbard Jr., Lt. Governor during the 15th Legislature (1876).

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During the 84th Regular Session, lawmakers added seven new official state symbols to the more than 60 state symbols that represent Texas. Texas now has three official hashtags: #txlege, #Texas, and #TexasToDo. In addition, the cowboy hat is now the official state hat of Texas, the western honey bee is now the official state pollinator, "The Lone Star State" is now the official nickname of Texas, and the Texas gulf shrimp is now the official state crustacean.

 

See the entire collection of official Texas symbols on our Pinterest page, State Symbols of Texas. Each symbol includes an image, as well as a link to the resolution that designated it.

 

Did you know?  Three species of shrimp are native to the Texas gulf: the brown shrimp, the white shrimp, and the pink shrimp. Of those three, the brown shrimp is nocturnal, and Texas shrimpers must fish at night to catch them.  

 

Image of honeybee by flickr user autan.

 

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