The Sunset Commission’s last report of the 2016-2017 cycle, Final Results of Sunset Reviews, is now available on the Sunset Advisory Commission's website.
A diagram of how the Sunset process works is available via the Sunset Advisory Commission's website. Click here to see a list of the agencies under review for the 2018-2019 cycle.
Cover image by Flickr user Nathan Eaton Jr.
The Library has updated its effective dates for bills page for the 85th Legislature to include the 12 bills passed in the 85th 1st C.S. A few of those bills went into effect immediately; others will take effect throughout the remainder of 2017 and into later years.
On September 1, 2017, provisions of 673 bills passed during the regular session of the 85th Legislature will take effect.
Additionally, sections of bills passed during the 84th Legislature, 83rd Legislature, and 82nd 1st C.S. will take effect on September 1.
To keep up with new laws throughout the year, check the Library's list of bill effective dates.
The Governor signed all of the bills that were sent to his desk. See how the numbers shaped up for this special session.
House Bills (HB) & Joint Resolutions (HJR) | Senate Bills (SB) & Joint Resolutions (SJR) | |
Filed | 428 | 132 |
Reported out of committee | 83 | 22 |
Passed by chamber of origin | 33 | 21 |
Referred to committee in opposite chamber | 11 | 12 |
Reported out of committee in opposite chamber | 7 | 11 |
Passed opposite chamber | 6 | 7 |
Sent to the Governor (bills only) | 6 | 6 |
Signed by the Governor (bills only) | 6 | 6 |
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View recent blog posts to see how these statistics have changed over the past few weeks and for more information about the legislative process.
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These bills have not yet been assigned session law chapters. To learn more about session law chapter numbers and copies of signed bills, please read our blog post from June 5.
Cover image by Flickr user nateClicks.
These statistics were pulled on August 14 at 8:30 a.m. The numbers will continue to change as the special session progresses.
House Bills (HB) & Joint Resolutions (HJR) | Senate Bills (SB) & Joint Resolutions (SJR) | |
Filed | 427 | 132 |
Reported out of committee | 83 | 22 |
Passed by chamber of origin | 33 | 21 |
Referred to committee in opposite chamber | 11 | 12 |
Reported out of committee in opposite chamber | 7 | 11 |
Passed opposite chamber | 3 | 5 |
Sent to the Governor (bills only) | 1 | 3 |
Signed by the Governor (bills only) | 0 | 3 |
These statistics were pulled on August 7 at 1:30 p.m. The numbers will continue to change as the special session progresses.
House Bills (HB) & Joint Resolutions (HJR) | Senate Bills (SB) & Joint Resolutions (SJR) | |
Filed | 417 | 129 |
Reported out of committee | 73 | 22 |
Passed by chamber of origin | 23 | 20 |
Referred to committee in opposite chamber | 4 | 10 |
Reported out of committee in opposite chamber | 0 | 4 |
Passed opposite chamber | 0 | 0 |
Sent to the Governor (bills only) | 0 | 0 |
Signed by the Governor (bills only) | 0 | 0 |
Bill statistics for the period of July 10, 2017 - July 23, 2017 are provided below.
House Bills (HB) & Joint Resolutions (HJR) | Senate Bills (SB) & Joint Resolutions (SJR) | |
Filed | 293 | 113 |
Reported out of committee | 1 | 18 |
Passed by chamber of origin | 0 | 2 |
Referred to committee in opposite chamber | 0 | 0 |
Reported out of committee in opposite chamber | 0 | 0 |
Passed opposite chamber | 0 | 0 |
Sent to the Governor (bills only) | 0 | 0 |
Signed by the Governor (bills only) | 0 | 0 |
For more information about special sessions, visit our Special Sessions of the Texas Legislature page.
Looking for detailed information on special session? The LRL website's section on Special Sessions and Years includes links to official proclamations and session topics assigned by the Governor for the current special session and select historical special sessions. If you are accessing this page from within the Capitol Complex, you can also view articles from our clippings database concerning special session.
Furthermore, you can stay up-to-date on laws and rules governing special session by visiting the Statutory Authority Pertaining to Special Sessions section. This page has annotated links to articles in the Texas Constitution and Texas Statutes. Other available resources include links to relevant Attorney General opinions, House and Senate rules, and answers to frequently asked questions.
On September 1, 2017, provisions of 673 bills passed during the regular session of the 85th Legislature will take effect.

Additionally, sections of bills passed during the 84th Legislature, 83rd Legislature, and 82nd 1st C.S. will take effect on September 1.
To keep up with new laws throughout the year, check the Library's list of bill effective dates.
Interested in how the final results of the 85th Legislature's regular session compares to the past few sessions? Use the charts below to compare and contrast.
To see past bill statistics and other session information, see previous blog posts on the legislative process.


The library reviews the text of all bills that become law to determine their effective dates and enters the information into Texas Legislature Online (TLO). To find the effective date of a bill, look up the bill in TLO and check the "Last action" field in the history window. In some cases, different sections of a bill may have different effective dates, in which case additional remarks will be given to provide the information.
For House and Senate bills from the 85th Regular Session (2017), the two largest groupings are:
The library compiles a more detailed list of bills and their effective dates following each regular and called session. The list is made available on the library's website once it is complete.