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Unlike other state legislatures, the Texas Senate does not include majority or minority leaders. Instead, the President Pro Tempore is considered the second most powerful position, and can be reserved to any political party in the chamber regardless if the party is a majority or not.
Texas has a Republican trifecta and a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and both chambers of the state legislature. As of October 24, 2024, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 10 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control.
The senators have a combined total of 437 years of legislative experience. The Senate is currently composed of: 22 men and 9 women; 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats; 24 incumbents and 7 new members; Occupations and Industries include: Accounting.
- Functions and Powers
- Elections and Qualifications
- Current Membership
- Leadership
- Legislative Process in The Texas Senate
- Committees of The Texas Senate
- Support Organs
- Map of Texas State Senate Districts
- Related News Coverage
Together with the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate has the following functions and powers: 1. Enacting and amending laws 2. Passing the state budget 3. Raising and lowering taxes 4. Endorsing proposed constitutional amendments 5. Redrawing congressional and legislative maps every ten years (redistricting) 6. Establishing the boundar...
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 citize...
Party Affiliation: 18 Republicans, 13 DemocratsGender Diversity: 10 women, 21 menEthnic Diversity: 22 White, 7 Hispanic, 2 BlackThe 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 state...
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 cham...
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 th...
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 stud...
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: 1. Legislative Budget Board 2. State Auditor 3. Legislative Council 4. Legislative Reference Library 5. Sunset Advisory Commission
Detailed demographic information on individual senate districts is available here, and a PDF map of the senate districts is available for download here.
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 B...
A total of 15 of the 31 seats in the Texas State Senate are up for election in 2024. All 31 seats in the Texas State Senate were up for election in 2022. The chamber's Republican majority increased from 18-13 to 19-12. Texas has a Republican trifecta.
Jun 16, 2021 · Analysis: The 2021 Texas Senate, from left to right. Based on the votes they cast during the just-concluded regular session, the author ranks the members of the Texas Senate from most...
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2 days ago · Who Is Favored To Win Texas's Senate Race? 538 uses polling, economic and demographic data to explore likely election outcomes. Cruz wins the seat 83 times out of 100
