Texas Legislature

Overview

The Texas Legislature is the law-making organ of state government in Texas. It consists of two parts, or chambers: a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives.

The Texas Legislature passes new laws and revises existing ones, sets tax rates, controls the state budget, and provides limited oversight of local governments and the other branches of government. Together with the judiciary and executive branch, the legislature is one of three co-equal branches of state government.

The legislature meets at the Capitol building in Austin.

For a bill to become a law in Texas, it must be approved by a majority of members in each chamber of the legislature. It is then sent to the governor, who may sign it, veto it, or allow it to become law without a signature.

The two chambers of the legislature function independently and set their own rules of procedure.

The Senate is called the ‘upper’ chamber of the legislature, because it has fewer members than the House—hence each senator individually is more powerful than each representative. Additionally, the Senate has powers not granted to the House, including approving or rejecting appointments made by the governor.

However, in many respects the two chambers are co-equal in power. Formally, there is no hierarchical relationship between them.

In addition to lawmaking, the Texas Legislature has the power to propose constitutional amendments, impeach officials for misconduct or corruption, appoint certain members of state boards and commissions, redraw congressional and legislative maps every ten years (redistricting), and establish the boundaries of district courts.

Elections and Term of Office

Members of the Texas Legislature are elected from geographic districts.

• House members serve 2-year terms.
• Senate members serve 4-year terms, except at the beginning and end of the 10-year redistricting cycle, when some members serve 2-year terms. The Senate has a lottery system to determine which senators serve for how long.

Neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate has term limits.

Balance of Power

Republicans hold a 88-62 majority over Democrats in the 150-member Texas House of Representatives and a 20-11 majority in the 31-member Texas Senate (2025-2026). There are no independent or third-party members.

Because the Texas Legislature is dominated by Republicans, policymaking decisions often come down to ideological or factional differences within the Republican Caucus, with Democrats sometimes playing a decisive tie-breaking role. For example, substantial differences have emerged within the Republican Caucus in recent years over school vouchers, banning ‘taxpayer-funded lobbying’ (the practice of political subdivisions of hiring lobbyists), criminal justice reforms, and public school funding, among other issues.

Many bills in the Texas Legislature are passed or rejected in party-line votes. However, other bills attract bipartisan support. The most prolific author of Texas laws is Judith Zaffirini, a veteran Democrat Senator from Laredo.

A notable difference between the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress is that the majority party historically has not control all the committee chairmanships. Instead, these were traditionally normally apportioned in a bipartisan way, particularly in the lower chamber. In the House, Speaker Dade Phelan in 2021 appointed 21 Republicans chairs and 13 Democrats. In the Senate, Democrats led two of 15 standing committees in 2021.

However, the bipartisan tradition ended in 2025, after the GOP Caucus demanded an end to Democratic chairmanships. Even so, Speaker Dustin Burrows appointed Democrats as vice chairs of all 30 standing committees, and as chairs of 6 of 12 new subcommittees.

Structure and Leadership

Each chamber of the Texas Legislature has a presiding officer who maintains order, recognizes members to speak during debate, and makes rulings on procedural matters.

The presiding officer in the Texas House is the the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the House members at the start of each regular legislative session. In the Senate, the presiding officer is the Lieutenant Governor, who is elected directly by the voters.

The Speaker and the Lieutenant Governor appoint committee chairpersons and make committee assignments in their respective chambers. The chairs of committees preside over committee meetings where lawmakers study, discuss, and hear testimony about proposed laws.

Regular and Special Sessions

The Texas Legislature is a part-time legislative body whose members generally have other occupations and who reside in their home districts, not in Austin. They meet only once every two years for a period of 140 days. This is called a regular session and it takes place from January through May of odd-numbered years.

Apart from that, the legislature cannot meet unless the governor calls a special session, which lasts for a period of 30 days. During the special session the legislature may consider only the agenda set by the governor in his “call,” which is the proclamation convening the session.

The period between regular sessions is called “the interim.” During the time, Texas lawmakers return to their occupations, campaign for reelection, and prepare for the next session.

Although the legislature as a whole may not meet during the interim, individual committees may hold hearings to study particular issues or to provide oversight of government agencies. Additionally, a permanent standing committee, the Legislative Budget Board, has legal powers to make adjustments to the budget during the interim.

Qualifications for Service

The Texas Constitution sets the qualifications for election to the legislature:

• a senator must be at least 26 years of age, a Texas resident for 5 years prior to election, and a resident of the district from which elected for one year.
• a representative must be at least 21 years of age, a Texas resident for 2 years, and a resident of the district from which elected for one year.

Member Demographics

Racial/Ethnic Diversity

As of 2023, there were 88 White, 37 Hispanic, 17 Black, and 4 Asian members of the Texas House. There were 22 White, 7 Hispanic, and 2 Black members of the Texas Senate.

Gender Diversity

Gender	House	Senate	Total
Male	97	23	120
Female	53	8	61

Freshman vs Incumbents

Incumbency	House	Senate	Total
Incumbents	118	28	146
Freshmen	53	8	34

Age of Members

Years	House	Senate	Total
Under 30	1	0	1
30 – 39	14	1	15
40 – 49	48	3	51
50 – 59	37	9	46
60 – 69	29	12	41
70 and over	20	6	26
No response	1	0	1

Legislative Process

Any senator or representative may propose a new law in the chamber in which they serve. The proposed law, which is called a bill, may be written by the member himself or by an outside interest group or expert. Often, Texas legislators draft their bills with assistance from lawyers at the Texas Legislative Council, a legislative agency with expertise in bill drafting.

For the bill to become a law, it must go through several steps:

1. Introduction (filing)
2. Referral to a committee
3. Consideration and approval by a committee
4. Placement on a calendar for floor consideration
5. Second reading
6. Third reading
7. Referral to the other chamber
8. Committee action and floor action in the other chamber
9. Reconciliation of bill versions between the two chambers
10. Enrollment
11. Sent to the governor

A bill becomes a law in Texas whether or not the governor signs it, unless he vetoes it. This differs from the U.S. federal system in which a bill must be signed by the president to become law. However, if the governor vetoes the bill, then it does not become law, unless the legislature votes by a two-thirds majority to override the veto.

For more detailed information about the legislative process in Texas, refer to this 16-page guide by the Texas Legislative Council.

Salaries of Texas Legislators

Texas legislators make $600 per month, or $7,200 per year. In addition, the lawmakers receive a per diem of $221 for each day of session, regardless of whether or not they actually attended that day of the session. That adds up to $45,340 for a two-year term in which there is only one a regular session (140 days) and no special sessions.

The legislators may also use donated political contributions to pay “reasonable household expenses in Austin,” if they do not ordinarily reside in Austin, according to an advisory opinion by the Texas Ethics Commission.

Texas state legislators are eligible to receive a pension after eight years, starting at age 60.

Legislators have offices in the Capitol Complex for the duration of their term. Most offices are located in the underground Capitol Extension, which is beneath the north lawn. Senior lawmakers have their offices in the Capitol itself.

Legislative Staff

Each legislator typically hires several staffers who work for that member alone, assisting the member in the performance of his or her duties. Staffers handle communications with constituents and stakeholders, help draft legislation, and give political advice.

Common titles for legislative staff include chief of staff, legislative director, general counsel, policy aide, and district director.

Legislators who are committee chairpersons also supervise one or more committee aides who organize committee meetings, and who work for the committee as a whole.

Additionally, the House and Senate each employ staff in a variety of departments that serve the institution as a whole, including House Administration, the Senate Secretary’s Office, the House Research Organization, the Senate Research Center, Publications/Printing, Personnel, Video/Audio Services, and the Journal Clerk.

Legislative Agencies

The Texas Legislature oversees five external support agencies that are part of the legislative branch of government:

• Legislative Budget Board
• State Auditor
• Legislative Council
• Legislative Reference Library
• Sunset Advisory Commission

Administratively, these agencies are separate from the legislature itself but their boards consist entirely of designated members of the House and Senate.

Additional Resources

Official Websites

Texas Legislature Online (bill search, journals, and vote records)

Texas Constitution and Statutes (codified laws of Texas)

Texas Senate (news, information, and video archives)

List of all Texas Senators (with portraits and links to member pages)

Texas House of Representatives (news, information, and video archives)

List of all state representatives (with portraits and links to member pages)