In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

• Find session law chapters by bill number for the 87th Legislature. (Texas Secretary of State, accessed June 2, 2021)
• Read about nature tourism in Texas. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, May 2021)
• Review voter identification requirements by state. (National Conference of State Legislatures, May 21, 2021)
• Consider how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting equal opportunity employment laws. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, updated May 28, 2021)

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

This entry was posted on June 3, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 714 views. Print this entry.

Bill Statistics:

*Statistics as of June 2, 2021, at 1 p.m. See our bill statistics page to compare these numbers with historical statistics.

Post-Session FAQ:

What happens now?

The 87th Regular Session ended May 31, 2021. Bills that pass both the House and the Senate are sent to the governor to sign, veto, or allow to become law without his signature.

When the Legislature passes a bill, does it become a law right away?

No. Under Article 4, Section 14 of the Texas Constitution, bills passed by the Legislature must be submitted to the governor for approval. The governor can sign a bill, veto it, line-item veto an appropriation, or allow a bill to become law without his signature.

How much time does the governor have to act on a bill?

The deadline for the governor to act on a bill is contingent upon the point in time in which the bill is presented to the governor.


If a bill is sent to the governor during the legislative session, the governor has 10 days (excluding Sundays) to sign the bill or return the bill to the Legislature with objection. If after 10 days the bill is not returned to the Legislature by the governor with objections or he has not yet signed it, the bill becomes law as if the governor had signed it.


If the Legislature has adjourned sine die, or if the bill is presented to the governor less than 10 days (excluding Sundays) prior to final adjournment, the governor has 20 days (including Sundays) after the final day of the session to sign or veto the bill. If neither action is taken, the bill becomes law without the governor's signature (Texas Const. art. IV, § 14).


Sunday, June 20, is the 20th day following the final adjournment of the 87th Regular Session. It is the last day the governor can sign or veto bills passed during the 87th Regular Session. The LRL's vetoes database will be updated for the 87th Regular Session as we receive those documents.

If the governor approves a bill, when will it take effect?

The text of a bill may include effective date provisions requiring the bill to take effect immediately, to take effect on a specified day, or there may be no mention of an effective date. Different sections of a bill may have different effective dates.


According to Article III, Section 39 of the Texas Constitution, a bill cannot become effective until at least 90 days after the session ends unless the bill passes both chambers with a favorable vote by two-thirds of the members.


Monday, August 30, 2021 is the 91st day following final adjournment; bills that do not specify an effective date and those that did not have the two-thirds vote necessary to take effect earlier will take effect on Monday, August 30, 2021.


If a bill received the votes necessary to become effective immediately, it will take effect on the date of the last action necessary for it to become law. This could be when the governor signs it, when the governor files it with the Secretary of State without approving or vetoing it, or when the time for the governor to act expires, if the bill has not been approved or vetoed during that time.

What happens to bills that do not pass?

Bills that do not make it completely through the legislative process die with the end of the session and are not automatically refiled during the next session.

What about other types of legislation?

Joint resolutions that pass both chambers of the Legislature are filed with the Secretary of State, and will be on the ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment for the November 2, 2021 election.


Concurrent resolutions generally require action by the governor. Concurrent resolutions used for administrative matters in the House and Senate do not require approval from the governor.


Simple resolutions are passed by only one chamber of the Legislature, and do not require the governor's approval.

Where can I find more information about special sessions?

You can start with the LRL's FAQ about special sessions. The LRL website's section devoted to special sessions also includes historical information, links to statutory authority pertaining to special sessions, and more.

Sources:

• The Legislative Process in Texas, Texas Legislative Council, February 2021
• Dates of Interest | 87th Legislature, Texas Legislative Council

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The 87th Regular Session ends Monday, May 31. As the end of session nears, many House and Senate members are appointed to conference committees to resolve differences between the versions of a bill passed by their respective chambers. The publication The Legislative Process in Texas provides more information about conference committees.

To see a list of bills for which a conference committee was requested, please click here.

Upon receiving completed conference committee reports, the LRL enters them in the conference committee reports database.

 

You can also find these reports, as well as a list of the members appointed to a bill's conference committee, in the Texas Legislature Online record for each bill.

For example, when looking at the record with the "History" tab for HB 1, 86th R.S., the House and Senate conferees are listed above the Actions table.

 

The conference committee report for HB 1 is located on the record with the "Text" tab.

 

The charts below provide a snapshot of bill statistics for the period of November 9, 2020 — May 28, 2021, as of 8:00 a.m. today.

	House Bills (HBs) & House Joint Resolutions (HJRs)	Senate Bills (SBs) & Senate Joint Resolutions (SJRs)
Filed	4,834	2,314
Reported out of committee	1,926	746
Passed by chamber of origin	1,261	672
Referred to committee in opposite chamber	1,157	671
Reported out of committee in opposite chamber	780	576
Passed opposite chamber	608	503
Signed by the Governor	64	78
Filed without the Governor's signature	4	3
Vetoed by the Governor	0	1

This entry was posted on May 28, 2021 at 3:45 PM and has received 1530 views. Print this entry.

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

• Consider how surprise medical billing laws may impact health care costs. (Stateline, May 20, 2021)
• Review how southern states have approached vaccine scheduling. (Council of State Governments, May 13, 2021)
• Read about boating safety. (Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, May 25, 2021)
• Find crime statistics about immigrants in Texas in 2019. (Cato Institute, May 11, 2021)

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

This entry was posted on May 27, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 755 views. Print this entry.

Bill statistics comparing the 133rd day of the 87th and the 86th Regular Sessions are below. For information about what happens to a bill after it passes, please see our Legislative FAQ page. To learn more about the legislative process and see bill statistics from earlier points in the 87th Regular Session, check out some of our previous blog posts.

 

Bill statistics for the period of November 9, 2020 — May 24, 2021, are below:

	House Bills (HBs) & House Joint Resolutions (HJRs)	Senate Bills (SBs) & Senate Joint Resolutions (SJRs)
Filed	4,834	2,314
Reported out of committee	1,926	746
Passed by chamber of origin	1,261	672
Referred to committee in opposite chamber	1,157	671
Reported out of committee in opposite chamber	777	576
Passed opposite chamber	392	331
Signed by the Governor	52	72
Filed without the Governor's signature	3	3
Vetoed by the Governor	0	1

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As the 87th Legislature draws to a close, a series of end-of-session deadlines begin to take effect. Below is a list of deadlines that occur next week:

• Monday, May 24: Deadline for the last House Local & Consent Calendar with Senate bills (SBs) to be distributed.
• Tuesday, May 25: Last day for the House to consider second reading Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions (SJRs) on the House Daily or Supplemental Calendar.
• Wednesday, May 26: Last day for the House to consider local and consent Senate bills on second and third reading, and all third reading Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions on the Supplemental Calendar.
  Last day for the Senate to consider all bills and joint resolutions on second or third reading.
• Thursday, May 27: Deadline for Senate amendments to be distributed in the House.
• Friday, May 28: Deadline for House copies of conference committee report (CCR) on the general appropriations bill to be distributed.
  Last day for the House to act on Senate amendments.
  Deadline for Senate copies of conference committee reports on tax, general appropriations, and reapportionment bills to be printed and distributed.
• Saturday, May 29: Deadline for House copies of conference committee reports on bills other than the general appropriations bill to be distributed.
  Deadline for Senate copies of all conference committee reports on bills other than tax, general appropriations, and reapportionment bills to be printed and distributed.
• Sunday, May 30: Last day for the House to adopt conference committee reports or discharge House conferees and concur in Senate amendments.
  Last day for the Senate to concur in House amendments or adopt conference committee reports.
• Monday, May 31: Last day of the 87th Regular Session (Sine die); only corrections may be considered in the House and the Senate.

House and Senate calendars are available on the Texas Legislature Online.

Bill statistics for the period of November 9, 2020 — May 14, 2021, are below.

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In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

• Consider how cyberattacks can exploit the vulnerabilities of U.S. energy pipelines. (Congressional Research Service, May 11, 2021)
• Read about prediabetes and ways to prevent type 2 diabetes. (American Heart Association, May 4, 2021)
• Explore data and statistics from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. (Texas Department of Family & Protective Services, accessed May 12, 2021)
• Find resources and information for counties related to the American Rescue Plan Act funds. (Texas Association of Counties, May 10, 2021)

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

This entry was posted on May 13, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 614 views. Print this entry.

As the 87th Legislature draws to a close, a series of end-of-session deadlines begin to take effect. Below is a list of deadlines that occur next week:

• Wednesday, May 19: Deadline for the House to distribute its last House Local and Consent Calendar with local House bills (HBs).
• Friday, May 21: Last day for the House to consider local House bills on second and third reading.
  First day the Senate can consider bills and resolutions the first day they are posted on the Senate Notice of Intent Calendar.
• Saturday, May 22: Last day for House committees to report Senate bills (SBs) and Senate joint resolutions (SJRs).
• Sunday, May 23: Deadline for the House to distribute its last House Daily Calendar with Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions.

House and Senate calendars are available on the Texas Legislature Online.

Bill statistics for the period of November 9, 2020 — May 7, 2021, are below.

This entry was posted on May 10, 2021 at 2:00 PM and has received 1626 views. Print this entry.

In this weekly post, we feature helpful research tools and recent articles of interest to the legislative community.

• Review the updated Biennial Revenue Estimate. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, May 2021)
• Find out which cars are the most and least expensive to maintain and keep on the road. (Mechanicbase.com, May 2, 2021)
• Consider how lack of sleep in middle age can affect brain health in the future. (Alzheimers.gov, April 27, 2021)
• Read about oak trees still recovering from the severe winter storms in February. (Texas A&M Forest Service, May 4, 2021)

Librarians review and select articles from more than 1,000 print and online sources to compile a weekly annotated list of Current Articles of interest to the legislative community. View this week's Current Articles.

Members of the Texas legislative community may request articles by using our online form or by calling 512-463-1252.

This entry was posted on May 6, 2021 at 3:15 PM and has received 1255 views. Print this entry.