GOVT 2306
The Bill Making Process in Texas
In this section we walk through the
bill making process in the state an
closely follow the information
made available online by the Texas
Legislature.
The bulk of the material will be
obtained through the website called
the Guide to Texas Legislative
Information.
We will primarily follow the material it
contains on the section on the
Legislative Process. The Texas Medical
Association provides a nice brief
overview of the process.
We will also look at what’s
contained in the Legislative
Reference Library of Texas, which
“performs research for Texas
legislators, their staff, and
legislative committees.”
Clicking here takes you to the TLR’s
page on Bill Statistics which shows
you how many bills have been
introduced and passed going back
to the 19th Legislative Session.
The South Texas College of Law has
a page detailing how to determine
legislative intent. So does the LRL.
They also provide summaries of
the work done by legislative
th
sessions dating back to the 48
Session.
Members of the Texas Legislature
can obtain help in creating
legislation from the Texas
Legislative Council.
Detailed background about the
facts related to the subject matter
of bills is provided by the House
Research Organization.
When the legislature is in session,
you can track bills by going to the
Texas Legislature Online and click
on Bill Lookup.
The Texas Tribune has a page that
allows you to search the bills
introduced in the 82nd Session.
There are several types of bills that
can be introduced to the
legislature, these are designated
with different prefixes before the
numbers which designate the
order in which they were
introduced.
The two general categories of
legislation: bill and resolutions.
Resolutions are used to establish law, rather
they “are commonly used to propose
amendments to the Texas Constitution; take
care of housekeeping functions; convey
congratulations or condolences to individuals or
groups in the state; express legislative intent;
express an opinion or sentiment on matters of
public interest; give direction to a state agency
or official; or call on certain governmental
agencies, offices, or units such as the U.S.
Congress to take a specific course of action.”
There are three types, each with a
distinct heading.
Joint resolutions are titled “HJR” and
“SJR” depending on whether they
originate in the House or Senate. They
are used to propose amendments to
the Texas Constitution and require a
2/3rds vote in each chamber to pass.
They are not submitted to the
governor, but do have to ratified by a
simple majority of the popular vote.
Concurrent resolutions are titled “NCR” and “SCR” and
are used “when both chambers have an interest in a
particular matter. Such resolutions may originate in
either chamber but must be adopted by both.
Concurrent resolutions may be used for matters
affecting operations and procedures of the legislature,
such as joint sessions or adjournment sine die. They
also are used to memorialize (petition) the U.S.
Congress, give directions to a state agency or officer,
express views of the legislature, or express
congratulations or condolences. Concurrent
resolutions, except those that pertain solely to matters
between the two chambers, must be submitted to the
governor for approval.”
Simple resolutions are titled “HR”
and “SR” and “pertain to matters
considered by the chamber of
origin only. They are used for such
purposes as adopting or changing
rules of procedure or expressing
congratulations or condolences.”
The legislature spends the bulk of
its time focusing on bills.
What is a bill? A type of legislative
measure that requires passage by
both chambers of the legislature
and action by the governor. A bill is
the primary means used to create
and change the laws of the state.
“HB” and “SB” are the designations given to
House Bills and Senate Bills. The difference
between the two depends on whether the bill in
question was introduced in the house or Senate.
Generally a bill introduced in one chamber is
accompanied with a “matching bill” introduced
in the other chamber. Bills have to passed by
both chambers with identical language in order
for them to be presented to the governor for a
potential signature.
Types of bills:
Public
Local – or non controversial
Emergency
Here’s a quick walk through of the
bill making process following the
steps outlined in the GTLI.
For diagrams of the process for
House and Senate bills click here.
The Texas House also has a quick
run-through of the process.
The process itself “is governed by the Texas
Constitution, applicable statutes, and the
rules of procedure of the senate and
house, and the different phases of activity
typically occur within a prescribed
timetable. The rules of procedure are
adopted by the respective chambers at the
beginning of each session.”
A quick general point: the process is
cumbersome and contains many points
where bills can be defeated. While Texas
has a far higher rate of bill passage than
the US Congress, most bill do not make it
through the process.
While the legislature has the power to pass
laws, the ability do so is hamstrung.
And one more quick point – or a
reminder: Sessions of the Texas
Legislature are limited to 140
calendar days. This does not give
much time for bills to be
considered. Activity can be very
fast, especially toward the end of
the session.
Here are dates of interest for the
83rd Session which convenes
January 8, 2013.
How a Bill Originates
Bills originate as ideas from variety of
places. They can come from the legislator,
a particular constituency of the legislator,
or a legislative committee. In Texas,
powerful interest groups often generate
bills that collectively attempt to influence
the nature of governance in the state.
Sometimes bills can be introduced
repeatedly until conditions are ripe for
their passage.
Bills have to be in a specific form –
which can be found in the Texas
Legislative Council’s Drafting Manual.
Bills can only contain one subject, with
the exception of general
appropriations bills which are
prepared by the Texas Budget Board.
Example of Groups:
Texas Public Policy Foundation
ALEC
Introducing a bill
Any member of either chamber
can introduce bills in that chamber
by providing a required number of
copies to the chief clerk, who then
assigns the bill a number.
A few rules apply to when and how
bills can be introduced.
Bills can be pre-filed beginning the
Monday following the general
election.
rd
83
For the
session, that date is
Monday November 12, 2012.
Any bill can be introduced on any
subject during the first 60 days of
the session. After 60 days, only
local or emergency bills can be
introduced.
The governor can also declare
certain bills to be “emergency bills”
and these are fast-tracked through
the legislative process.
Referral to a committee
After a bill is introduced into one of
the chambers of the legislature, the
caption is read and it is referred to a
committee by the Speaker or
Lieutenant Governor.
This is an additional power for each of
these offices. Discretion over which
committee considers the bill can help
determine the fate of a bill.
Committees exist in order to allow subsets of
legislators to focus on specific types of
legislation. The Speaker and the Lieutenant
Governor have the sole power to appoint
members to committee, as well as appoint
committee chairs. This is a key source of their
strength. Committee members can then hold
hearings on the bills, modify it, or table it
meaning that it dies in committee.
Bills must be reported out of committee in order for it
to move forward. This is the most common place for bill
to die.
Committees may the most
important institution in the
legislature because that is where
the actual subject matter of
legislation is established.
It is crucial for members of the legislature
to be assigned to committees that give
them jurisdiction over issues important to
their constituents. This need creates
leverage for each chamber’s presiding
officer. Members must cooperate with the
officer’s objectives in order to be
appointed to their preferred committees.
“Committees are formed at the beginning of the
regular session and generally consist of 5 to 29
members. For committees of the house of
representatives, membership of most
committees is determined in part by seniority
and in part by appointments by the speaker.
Each representative sits on at least one
committee, and most representatives sit on two
or three committees. The house in the 80th
Legislature had 40 substantive and procedural
standing committees.”
“For committees of the senate,
membership is determined entirely
by appointments by the lieutenant
governor. Senators generally sit on
three or four committees each,
and the senate in the 80th
Legislature had 15 standing
committees.”
Click here for House Committees
Click Here for Senate Committees
There are two general types of
committees in the Texas
Legislature.
Substantive committees, where
bills are considered, and
procedural committees, that
determine how the legislature
operates.
The committee chair may decide to
appoint subcommittees to consider
certain types of bills.
Once a bill is referred to
committee, a determination is
made as to whether the bill will
involve any costs. If so, a fiscal note
must be prepared by the
Legislative Budget Board that
accompanies the bill as it goes
through the legislative process.
FISCAL NOTE—An estimate,
prepared by the Legislative Budget
Board, of the probable costs that
will be incurred as an effect of a bill
or joint resolution.
Committees can then hold public
hearings on the bills – if they
choose to do so.
After consideration, the committee
may choose to report out a bill.
This means they pass it and report
to others in the legislature why.
If the committee reports
unfavorably on a bill, it is generally
dead, but if an interested minority
of the committee approves of the
bill, it can issue a minority report
which can be adopted by a
minority of the House or by 2/3rds
of the Senate.
Committee Reports
“ After considering a bill, a committee may choose to take no
action or may issue a report on the bill to the house or senate.
Committee reports are advisory only and may take several forms.
The committee may recommend passage of the bill without
amendments, or it may recommend amendments to the bill or
even substitute a new bill for the original document.
The committee report includes a record of the committee’s
recommendations and vote regarding house or senate action on
the bill, including the recommendation regarding placement on a
calendar; the text of the bill as reported by the committee,
which may be the introduced text or a substitute; any proposed
amendments; a detailed bill analysis; a fiscal note or other
impact statement; and other attachments as necessary.”
Committee reports are printed and
delivered to each member of the
chamber in question.
For bills in the House, a copy is also
delivered to the calendars
committee which then schedules
the bill for floor consideration.
Getting from the Committee to the
Floor:
Calendars and Agendas
The House Calendar
The Texas House has a Committee
on Calendars which has wide
discretion in determining when
bills reported out of committee will
be heard on the House floor.
Click here for the page in the Texas
Legislature Online that describes
and contains these calendars.
There are four types of calendars
1 - the Daily House Calendar, which contains a list of new bills and resolutions
scheduled by the Committee on Calendars for consideration by the house;
2 - the Supplemental House Calendar (prepared by the Committee on
Calendars), which may contain: (a) measures passed to third reading on the
previous day; (b) measures on the Daily House Calendar for a previous day
that were not reached for consideration; (c) measures on the Daily House
Calendar for the current day; (d) postponed business from a previous day;
and (e) notice to call from the table a measure laid on the table subject to call
on a previous day;
3 - the Local, Consent, and Resolutions Calendar, which contains a list of local
or noncontroversial bills scheduled by the Committee on Local and Consent
Calendars for consideration by the house; and
4 - the Congratulatory and Memorial Calendar, which contains a list of
congratulatory and memorial resolutions and motions scheduled by the
Committee on Rules and Resolutions for consideration by the house
The Senate Agenda and Intent
Calendar
The Senate Agenda contains
information on various measures that
the Senate may act on. Only one of
which is the consideration of bills
reported out of committee. These are
officially to be heard in the order they
are reported out of committee to the
Senate.
Here’s language from the GTLI:
“Senate rules require that bills and resolutions be listed
on the regular order of business and be considered on
second reading in the order in which committee
reports on the measures are submitted to the senate.
During a regular session, the senate adopts a further
rule specifying that before a bill or joint resolution may
be brought up for floor debate out of its regular order,
notice of intent must be filed with the secretary of the
senate by 3 p.m. on the last preceding calendar day the
senate was in session. . . .
. . . senator may give notice on no more than three bills
or resolutions before April 15 and on no more than five
bills or resolutions on or after April 15. Senate rules
direct the secretary of the senate to prepare a list of all
legislation for which notice has been given. The list,
called the Intent Calendar, must be made available to
each senator and to the press not later than 6:30 p.m.
on the day the notice is filed. No bill or resolution may
be considered on its first day on the Intent Calendar,
and a vote of two-thirds of the senators present is
required before any of the measures listed on the
Intent Calendar may be debated.”
That last part is important. An
opportunity exists to consider bills
out of order if the desired bill is
placed on the intent calendar.
This has led to a custom in the
Senate. At the beginning of each
session a dummy bill is introduced
and placed on the Intent Calendar.
Since it is on top of the Intent
Calendar, a 2/3rds vote is
necessary in order for any other
bill to be considered by the Senate.
This allows the Senate to be more
responsive to minorities than the
House.
Floor Action
Bills are then read a second time
before the chamber (the caption
only). It can then be debated by
the chamber. The chamber may
then amend the bill by simple
majority vote. After amendments
are considered, the bill is read a
third time and a final vote is held.
“If the bill receives a simple majority vote, it is
considered passed, and the chief clerk of the
house or the secretary of the senate, as
appropriate, certifies the bill’s final passage,
noting on it the date of its passage and the vote
by which it passed. When the bill is passed in
the originating chamber, the bill is engrossed (all
corrections and amendments are incorporated
into it), and an exact and accurate copy of the
engrossed bill is prepared and sent to the
opposite chamber for consideration.”
Consideration in the other
chamber
The process in the other chamber
mostly mirrors that in the originating
chamber.
The chamber itself however is
different and the factors that motivate
one may not motivate the other. There
is no guarantee that a bill supported
by the House will be approved by the
Senate or voice versa.
In a bicameral legislature, each
chamber is a check on the power
of the other.
The majoritarian pressures the
electorate can place to act quickly
in the House is checked by the
processes that slow things down in
the Senate.
Consideration of local and
noncontroversial bills
A significant number of bills
introduced in the House and Senate do
not deal with any substantive state
matters, but rather local matters, or
issues that are non-controversial.
Each chamber has a committees that
sets the calendar that deals with each.
Click here for the House Local and
Consent Calendars Committee.
Click here for the Senate
Committee on Administration,
which sets the Local and
Uncontested Calendar for that
chamber.
Return of a bill to the originating
chamber
If a bill has been passed by the
other chamber without
amendment, then it is returned to
the originating chamber where the
bill is then enrolled.
ENROLLED—The stage in a bill’s legislative
progress when it has been passed by both
chambers of the legislature in identical
form and is prepared for signature by the
presiding officers of both houses.
Conference committee
If amendments have been made to a bill in
one chamber, that were not accepted in
the other a conference committee can be
requested by the presiding officers in each
chamber to reconcile differences between
the two.
The resulting report is introduced in both
chambers and if it is passed, the report is
enrolled, signed by the presiding officers of
each chamber and sent to the governor.
If the report is not accepted by
either chamber the bill dies.
Governor's action
If a bill is sent to the governor
within 10 days of the final
adjournment (sine die), the
governor can sign or veto it or
allow it to become a law without
his signature. Vetoes or signatures
must happen within 20 calendar
days after final adjournment.
If the bill is sent with more than 10
days remaining, the vetoed bill is
returned to the chamber where it
originated and if a 2/3rds majority
votes for the bill – as well as a
2/3rds majority of the other
chamber – then the veto is
overturned.
The Texas Governor also has line
item veto authority which allows
for the veto of specific budget
items. This is an effective tool for
limiting spending.
For the 82nd Session
Bills Signed
Bills Vetoes
Bills Allowed to Become Law
Effective date
Following a constitutional
mandate, bills do not become
effective for 90 days following the
adjournment of the session where
it was enacted.
The Legislature, by a 2/3rds vote
can direct otherwise.
Filing and publication of laws
Once a bill becomes a law, the
executive clerk to the governor
sends the bill to the Secretary of
State which files the bill.
Bills are kept at the Texas State
Library and Archives Commission.
Further information about past
laws can be found here:
General and Special Laws of the
State of Texas
The content of bills is incorporated
into Texas Government Code.