Organization and Leadership
Overview
Organization and leadership of the Texas State Legislature.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, students will be able to:
- Understand how the Texas State Legislature is organized
- Understand the Committee structure
- Understand the presiding officers of the Texas State Legislature
- Understand the roles played by the presiding officers
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Understand how the Texas State Legislature is organized
- Understand the Committee structure
- Understand the presiding officers of the Texas State Legislature
- Understand the roles played by the presiding officers
Organization
Organization
Although members are elected on partisan ballots, both houses of the Legislature are officially organized on a nonpartisan basis, with members of both parties serving in leadership positions such as committee chairmanships. As of 2018, a majority of the members of each chamber are members of the Republican Party.
Committees
Committees
A committee is a group of legislators appointed by the presiding officer of the house or the senate to which proposed legislation is referred or a specific task is assigned.
The size of the legislature and the volume of work confronting it each session make lengthy deliberation on all proposed measures by the entire membership a difficult task. For this reason, the basic business in both chambers is conducted according to the committee system. Committees to consider introduced bills and advise on their disposition are created in the rules of procedure of the respective chambers. Although nearly all bills are referred to a committee, a large number of bills are never reported out of committee. Thus, committee action is a crucial step in the process by which a bill becomes law.
The presiding officers (the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor) have substantial power over the committee process.
The Lieutenant Governor appoints all chairs and members of Senate committees, and refers all bills to committee. The lieutenant governor also schedules most bills for consideration on the Senate floor. Bills that are local or uncontested are scheduled by the Senate Administration Committee.
The speaker appoints chairs and members of all House committees and refers all bills to a committee. Bills are scheduled for consideration on the House floor by the Calendars Committee.
Types of Committees
Types of Committees
There are six types of Committees in the Texas State Legislature:
- Standing: Peramanent--existing from one regular session to the next
- Substantive: Work on legislation, rather than process (rules), calendars, or administration
- Procedural: Work on the chamber process (rules), calendars or administration
- Special (aka Ad Hoc): Temporary
- Interim: Work between regular sessions
- Conference (aka Joint): Comprised of members from the house and senate
Committees of the Texas State Legislature
Committees
There are a total of 55 standing committees in the Texas State Legislature. There is 1 joint standing committee. The Texas Senate has 18 standing committees. The Texas House has 36 standing committees. These are the Committees of the Texas House of Representative and the Texas Senate:
House
- Agriculture and Livestock Committee, Texas House
- Appropriations Committee, Texas House
- Border & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, Texas House
- Business & Industry Committee, Texas House
- Calendars Committee, Texas House
- Corrections Committee, Texas House
- County Affairs Committee, Texas House
- Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Texas House
- Culture, Recreation, & Tourism Committee, Texas House
- Defense & Veterans' Affairs Committee, Texas House
- Elections Committee, Texas House
- Economic & Small Business Development Committee, Texas House
- Energy Resources Committee, Texas House
- Environmental Regulation Committee, Texas House
- General Investigating & Ethics Committee, Texas House
- Government Efficiency & Reform Committee, Texas House
- Higher Education Committee, Texas House
- Homeland Security & Public Safety Committee, Texas House
- House Administration Committee, Texas House
- Human Services Committee, Texas House
- Insurance Committee, Texas House
- Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee, Texas House
- Land & Resource Management Committee, Texas House
- Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee, Texas House
- Local & Consent Calendars Committee, Texas House
- Natural Resources Committee, Texas House
- Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee, Texas House
- Public Education Committee, Texas House
- Public Health Committee, Texas House
- Redistricting Committee, Texas House
- Rules & Resolutions Committee, Texas House
- State Affairs Committee, Texas House
- Technology Committee, Texas House of Representatives
- Transportation Committee, Texas House
- Urban Affairs Committee, Texas House
- Ways & Means Committee, Texas House
Senate
- Administration Committee
- Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee
- Business & Commerce Committee
- Criminal Justice Committee
- Economic Development Committee
- Education Committee
- Finance Committee
- Government Organization Committee
- Health & Human Services Committee
- Higher Education Committee
- Intergovernmental Relations Committee
- International Relations and Trade Committee
- Jurisprudence Committee
- Natural Resources Committee
- Nominations Committee
- State Affairs Committee
- Transportation & Homeland Security Committee
- Veteran Affairs & Military Installations Committee
Presiding Officers
Presiding officers
The presiding officeres have wide latitude in choosing committee membership in their respective chambers and have a large impact on lawmaking in the state.
Texas Senate Leadership: The Lieutenant Governor
As presiding officer of the Senate, the lieutenant governor is officially called the President of the Senate. The lieutenant governor is elected by a statewide popular vote to serve a four year term of office. The lieutenant governor is not a member of the Senate, and votes only in case of a tie. The lieutenant governor appoints all chairs and members of Senate committees, and refers all bills to committee. The lieutenant governor also schedules most bills for consideration on the Senate floor.
The current Lieutenant Governor is Dan Patrick.
Texas House of Representatives Leadership: The Speaker of the House
The speaker of the House is the presiding officer, elected by a majority of House members. The speaker appoints chairs and members of all House committees and refers all bills to a committee.
The current Speaker of the House is Joe Strauss.