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The Texas Senate is one of two parts, or chambers, of the Texas State Legislature. Together with the Texas House of Representatives, it makes laws and approves the state budget.
The senate consists of 31 elected senators plus the lieutenant governor. Each senator represents a district with a population of approximately 800,000.
A majority of members of the Texas Senate belong to the Republican Party. The party has controlled the senate since January 1997.
The senate meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, occupying the east wing of the building.
Functions and Powers
Together with the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate has the following functions and powers:
- Enacting and amending laws
- Passing the state budget
- Raising and lowering taxes
- Endorsing proposed constitutional amendments
- Redrawing congressional and legislative maps every ten years (redistricting)
- Establishing the boundaries of district courts and appellate courts
- Voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes.
Additionally, the senate has the exclusive power to approve or reject appointments made by the governor to fill vacancies in state or district offices. This is called the “advice and consent” power. Such appointments must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the senate.
The senate is also responsible for holding a trial for officials impeached by the Texas House. At the conclusion of such a trial, a vote of two-thirds of the senators is required to remove an official from office. This has only happened twice in Texas history, in 1917 and 1976.
Elections and Qualifications
Elections for the Texas Senate are held in even-numbered years in November (e.g., 2020, 2022, 2024). There are no term limits, and each senator serves for four years, except that every decade, half of the senators serve only a two-year term, based on a lottery.
In order to qualify to serve as a state senator, a person must be 26 years old, a citizen of the United States, a five-year resident of Texas, and a minimum one-year resident of the senate district in which he or she is running.
Current Membership
- Party Affiliation: 18 Republicans, 13 Democrats
- Gender Diversity: 10 women, 21 men
- Ethnic Diversity: 22 White, 7 Hispanic, 2 Black
A list of all state senators, with portraits and links to member pages, is available here.
Leadership
The Lieutenant Governor of Texas presides over the Texas Senate. He recognizes members during debate, makes procedural rulings that affect the daily running of the chamber, and appoints committee chairpersons and members.
Generally, the Texas lieutenant governor has substantial control of the flow of proceedings in the chamber, unlike in some states where the lieutenant governor serves a largely ceremonial function.
The lieutenant governor may also cast the deciding vote should a floor vote result in a tie.
The current lieutenant governor is Dan Patrick, a Republican.
The senate has one other constitutional officer, the President Pro Tempore, who is elected at the beginning of each legislative session. The role of the President Pro Tempore is to perform the duties of the lieutenant governor in case of any absence or disability.
Presidents pro tempore are usually the most senior members of the Senate.
Legislative Process in the Texas Senate
Bill Filing and Referral
To introduce a bill, a senator must file the bill with the secretary of the senate. The bill is then formally read into the record, using its caption only, and is referred by the lieutenant governor to an appropriate committee.
Committee Consideration
The committee may then consider the bill at a formal hearing and vote whether to report it favorably to the full chamber.
During committee hearings, senators hear testimony from invited witnesses or members of the public speaking for or against the bill. They may also pose questions to the bill author and discuss the bill amongst each other.
Sometimes committees ignore the bills that are referred to them. Other times, they consider a bill but decide not to report it favorably to the full chamber. If this happens, the bill is considered to have “died” in committee.
Placement on Floor Calendar
Once a bill is reported from committee, it is placed on the senate’s Regular Order of Business, which is a list of all bills and resolutions that have been reported favorably from committees.
Senate rules require bills to be considered on the floor in the order in which they were reported from committee, but in practice the senate considers bills out of order by placing them on a priority list called the Intent Calendar.
Approval of five-ninths of the members is required to place a bill on the Intent Calendar and thereby clear it for floor consideration.
Second Reading
On a given day, the senate may take up any bill on its Intent Calendar. The bill caption is read, a step known as Second Reading, and then the bill is subject to debate and amendment. A bill may be amended on second reading by a simple majority of those present and voting.
After the bill is debated and amended, the members take a vote, known as a second-reading vote, which is the first of two floor votes required for approval. If approved, the bill is considered passed to third reading.
Third Reading
The chamber then considers the bill again, a step referred to as Third Reading. Amendments at this stage require approval of two-thirds of the members present and voting, according to senate rules. The bill is considered finally passed if approved by a simple majority vote.
Although the Texas Constitution requires a bill to be read on three separate legislative days in each chamber before it can have the force of law, this rule may be suspended by a four-fifths vote of the members present.
In such cases, the bill is given an immediate third reading following its passage from second reading. The senate routinely suspends the constitutional provision in order to give a bill an immediate third reading.
Referral to the House
After a bill passes on third reading, legislative staff prepare a final text of the bill that incorporates all the approved corrections and amendments, a process known as “engrossment.” A copy is then sent to the Texas House of Representatives for consideration.
The House must pass the bill in the same form in order for it to become law. If it makes amendments, then the bill will not become law unless the senate takes another vote assenting to the House amendments.
Once the two chambers have ironed out differences between versions of the same bill and taken final votes of approval on any amendments, as necessary, the bill is signed by the presiging officers in their respective chambers, at which point it it is considered “enrolled.”
An enrolled bill will become law on its effective date, unless vetoed by the governor.
Committees of the Texas Senate
Senate and House committees carry out much of the routine work of the Texas Legislature, debating bills, tweaking and revising bills before they reach the floor, and holding public hearings to allow the public to give input on legislative proposals.
Committees also carry out an oversight role by summoning executive branch officials, conducting studies and hearings on different topics during the interim between legislative sessions, and issuing subpoenas for information, as needed.
The Texas Senate has the following standing committees:
- Administration
- Business & Commerce
- Criminal Justice
- Education
- Finance
- Health & Human Services
- Higher Education
- Local Government
- Natural Resources & Economic Development
- Nominations
- State Affairs
- Transportation
- Veteran Affairs & Border Security
- Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Additionally, the lieutenant governor may establish temporary committees, which are called “interim” or “select” committees, or a “joint” committee with the House of Representatives.
During the 87th legislative session (2021), the senate created a special committee on redistricting and a special committee on constitutional issues, which dealt with a proposal for to allow the permitless carry of handguns, also called constitutional carry.
In the previous biennium (2019-2020), the senate also had a select committee on mass violence prevention, which was created as a response to mass shootings in El Paso, Santa Fe, and elsewhere.
Support Organs
The Senate relies on a a number of internal administrative and support organs, such as the Senate Research Center, as well as five external support agencies. These five agencies are:
- Legislative Budget Board
- State Auditor
- Legislative Council
- Legislative Reference Library
- Sunset Advisory Commission
Map of Texas State Senate Districts
Detailed demographic information on individual senate districts is available here, and a PDF map of the senate districts is available for download here.
Related News Coverage
Jane Nelson, 28-Year Veteran of Texas Senate, Will Not Seek Reelection, July 6, 2021
Texas Senate Runs Out The Clock on Renewal of Corporate Tax Incentives, May 27, 2021
Bills Advance to Penalize Austin Over Police Funding, May 24, 2021
Bill Allowing Texas Educators to Carry Handguns in Classrooms Clears Senate, May 3, 2021
Covid Skeptic Loses to Business Executive in North Texas Senate Race, Dec. 20, 2021
Eckhardt Takes Up Post in State Senate After Rodriguez Forgoes Runoff, Aug. 12, 2020
