The Texas Legislature
A Part-Time Legislature,
Weak By Design.
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The 1875 Texas Constitution established a
bicameral, biennial, low-paid legislative
branch.
A Bicameral Legislature
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Like the U.S. Congress and the legislatures of 48
other states, the Texas Legislature consists of
two houses (Nebraska alone has a unicameral
legislature).
The Texas House of Representatives has 150
members who are elected to two year terms.
The Texas Senate has 31 members who are
elected to four year terms.
All members are now elected in single-member
district races; originally there were exceptions
when two or more House districts were in one
county. This was changed in 1971.
Biennial Sessions
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In order to limit the damage that the legislature
can do the authors of the Texas constitution
restricted the legislative session to 140 days
every other year.
The Regular biennial session begins on the
second Tuesday in January of odd numbered
years and runs for 140 days.
Special sessions lasting no longer than 30 days
may be called by the governor at any time. If he
chooses to call one, he has the authority to
specify what issue will be considered during the
session.
Low-Paid Legislators.
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The salary for members of both houses of the Texas
Legislature is $7200 per year.
$600 per month!!!
Members are paid $100 per year in New Hampshire, $300 per
year in Rhode Island, and $99,000 per year in California.
The Texas Constitution would have to be amended to
increase this salary. There is no groundswell of support for
such a change.
The intent of the framers and contemporary Texans is to
establish a legislature staffed by citizen politicians.
Members also receive a $125 per diem during the regular
session and any special sessions. Adjustment of this
expense allowance used to require constitutional
amendment; now the Texas Ethics Commission sets it.
Those Clever Fellows!
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Legislator pay-raises require constitutional
amendment, but they passed legislation in 1975
that made themselves eligible for pensions if
they serve 8 years.
Retirement pay amounts to 2.25 percent of a
district judge’s salary for each year served.
That’s about $18,000 for a member who serves
eight years, $68,000 for a member who serves
30 years.
Party Control has Shifted Recently
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The Democratic Party dominated Texas (and the
entire South) for 100-125 years. This is no longer
the case.
In the 1960 election Texans elected an allDemocrat legislature. Today both houses of the
legislature and all statewide executive offices
are under Republican control.
The Presiding Officers.
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The Speaker of the House of
Representatives: Just like the U.S. House,
the Texas House elects its speaker. The
speaker is elected to the House by the
people of his or her district; the speaker is
elected by house members.
The Lieutenant Governor (Senate): Elected in
a statewide election.
It is possible that the Lt. Governor could be a
member of the Senate’s minority party.
The Speaker of the House
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The Speaker appoints all House committee chairs and vice-chairs.
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Appoints all members of House procedural committees (can’t
remove them).
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Appoints House substantive committee members within
limitations of seniority rule.
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Recognizes members who wish to speak on the House floor.
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Assigns all bills and resolutions to House committees.
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Also serves on interim committees such as the Legislative
Council, The Legislative Audit Committee, and the Legislative
Budget Board…..more on them later.
The Lieutenant Governor
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One of several members of the Texas executive branch who are
elected in statewide elections (plural executive).
Appoints all Senate committee chairs and vice-chairs (can’t
remove them)
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Appoints Senate committee members.
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Determines which Senate committee will handle a bill.
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Recognizes members who wish to speak on the floor..
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Votes in the event of a tie.
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Serves on interim committees such as the Legislative council,
Legislative Budget Board, and Legislative Audit
Committee…more on them later.
The Committee System
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There are several types of committees; all
are subunits of the legislature. Like the U.s.
Congress, the Texas Legislature is organized
around the committee system.
Standing Committees
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Basic committees that do most of the work of
the legislature. They are created at the beginning
of the session and continue “standing” until the
end of the biennium. In the absence of
leadership change they will likely be recreated
for the next session.
They are either substantive or procedural.
Substantive committees handle topics of
substance….legislation.
Procedural committees handle rules, calendars,
and the administration of the House or Senate.
The Legislative Budget Board.
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The Governor and the legislature prepare
budget proposals. The Governor’s role was
established by the legislature 70 years ago.
A 10 member interim and joint committee
works continuously on the budget.
Both presiding officers and four members of
each house appointed by them. Traditionally
includes the chairmen of appropriations and
finance committees.
Assisted by a staff of over 120 FT employees
Senate-House Differences.
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In the House the Calendar Committee sets
the daily calendar. They determine when and
if a bill reaches the full House for deliberation
and vote.
Prior to 1993 rule change the members of the
Calendar Committee vote in secret.
The Senate has no such committee. Instead
it has a procedure that is nothing less than a
game………….
The Senate Administration Committee
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The Senate has a strange rule known as the twothirds rule.
Non-controversial bills are scheduled by the
committee.
All other bills are considered in order.
But, considering a bill out of order requires a
two-thirds vote.
At the beginning of the session a senator
proposes a bogus bill….a bottleneck. It’s always
next. To bypass it always requires a two-thirds
vote.
This in effect requires a super-majority to pass
legislation.