Texas State Legislature

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Texas State Legislature

Seal of Texas.svg.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   No regular legislative session
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Dan Patrick (R)
House Speaker:  Dade Phelan (R)
Structure
Members:  31 (Senate), 150 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art 3, Texas Constitution
Salary:   $7,200/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 8, 2022
Next election:  November 5, 2024
Redistricting:  Texas Legislature has control

The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of Texas. The legislature meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. In Texas, the legislature is considered "the dominant branch of state government," according to the Texas State Historical Association.[1]

It is composed of the upper chamber, the Texas State Senate, and the lower chamber, the Texas House of Representatives.

Texas entered the Union in 1845. The first legislature met from February 16 to May 13, 1846.

Texas has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

Texas enacted new legislative district boundaries in June 2023 for use in 2024 and until the 2030 census. These districts were the same as those enacted by the state in October 2021. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed HB 1000—establishing state House district boundaries—on June 12, 2023, and he allowed SB 375—establishing state Senate district boundaries—to become law without his signature on June 18, 2023.[2][3] The Texas Tribune's James Barragan wrote in January 2023 that Senate Legislative Redistricting Committee Chairperson Joan Huffman (R) said the state was re-doing the redistricting process "to ensure that Legislature had met its constitutional requirement to apportion districts in the first regular session after the publishing of the results of the federal census, which is done every 10 years. Because of the pandemic, census numbers were not released until after the end of the last regularly scheduled legislative session on May 31, 2021. Redistricted maps were passed in a subsequent special session that year."[4] Texas had originally enacted new state legislative districts on October 25, 2021. Click here for more information.

See also: Texas House of Representatives, Texas State Senate, Texas Governor

Elections

2024

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2024 and Texas House of Representatives elections, 2024

Elections for the Texas State Senate will take place in 2024. The general election is on November 5, 2024. A primary is March 5, 2024, and a primary runoff is May 28, 2024. The filing deadline was December 11, 2023.

Elections for the Texas House of Representatives will take place in 2024. The general election is on November 5, 2024. A primary is March 5, 2024, and a primary runoff is May 28, 2024. The filing deadline was December 11, 2023.

2022

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2022 and Texas House of Representatives elections, 2022

Elections for the Texas State Senate took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for March 1, 2022, and a primary runoff was scheduled for May 24, 2022. The filing deadline was December 13, 2021.

Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2022. The general election was on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for March 1, 2022, and a primary runoff was scheduled for May 24, 2022. The filing deadline was December 13, 2021.

2020

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2020 and Texas House of Representatives elections, 2020

Elections for the office of Texas State Senate took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for March 3, 2020, and a primary runoff was scheduled for July 14, 2020. The filing deadline was December 9, 2019.

Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for March 3, 2020, and a primary runoff was scheduled for July 14, 2020. The filing deadline was December 9, 2019.

2018

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2018 and Texas House of Representatives elections, 2018

Elections for the Texas State Senate took place in 2018. An open primary election took place on March 6, 2018.[5] A primary runoff election took place on May 22, 2018. The general election was held on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was December 11, 2017.[6]

Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2018. An open primary election took place on March 6, 2018.[7] A primary runoff election took place on May 22, 2018. The general election was held on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was December 11, 2017.[8]

2016

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2016 and Texas House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Texas State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.[9]

Elections for the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on March 1, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was December 14, 2015.[10]

2014

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2014 and Texas House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for 15 of the 31 seats in the Texas State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was December 9, 2013.

Elections for all 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 4, 2014. Those candidates who did not receive 50 percent or more of the vote in their party primary on March 4 faced an additional May 27 primary runoff. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was December 9, 2013.

2012

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2012 and Texas House of Representatives elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Texas State Senate took place in 2012. The primary election was held on May 29, 2012, and the general election was held on November 6, 2012. The candidate filing deadline was March 9, 2012.

Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives took place in 2012. The primary election was held on May 29, 2012, and the general election was held on November 6, 2012. The candidate filing deadline was March 9, 2012.

2010

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2010 and Texas House of Representatives elections, 2010

Elections for the office of Texas State Senate took place in 2010. The primary election was held on March 2, 2010, and the general election was held on November 2, 2010. The candidate filing deadline was January 4, 2010.

Elections for the office of Texas House of Representatives took place in 2010. The primary election was held on March 2, 2010, and the general election was held on November 2, 2010. The candidate filing deadline was January 4, 2010.

Sessions

Article III of the Texas Constitution establishes when the Legislature is to be in session. Section 5 of Article III states that the Legislature shall meet every two years at times to be established by law. Current law establishes the start of session to be noon on the second Tuesday in January of all odd numbered years.[11] Section 5 goes on to say that the Legislature can also be convened by the Governor of Texas. Sessions are limited to 140 days.

2024

See also: Dates of 2024 state legislative sessions

In 2024, the legislature will not hold a regular session.

2023

See also: 2023 Texas legislative session and Dates of 2023 state legislative sessions

In 2023, the legislature was scheduled to convene on January 10, 2023, and adjourn on May 29, 2023.


Role in state budget

See also: Texas state budget and finances
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The state operates on a biennial budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:[41]

  1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies beginning in June.
  2. Agencies submit their budget requests to the governor between July and September.
  3. Public hearings are held between July and October.
  4. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature by the date of the State of the State address.
  5. The legislature typically adopts a budget in May. A simple majority is required to pass a budget. The fiscal year begins in September.

Texas is one of 43 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.[41]

The legislature is constitutionally required to adopt a balanced budget. The governor must sign a balanced budget into law.[41]


Qualification for service

The Texas Constitution sets the qualifications for election to each house as follows:

  • A senator must be at least 26 years of age, a citizen of Texas five years prior to election and a resident of the district from which elected one year prior to election. Each senator serves a four-year term and one-half of the Senate membership is elected every two years in even-numbered years, with the exception that all 31 Senate seats are up for election for the first legislature following the decennial census in order to reflect the newly redrawn districts. After the initial election, the Senate is divided by lot into two classes, with one class having a re-election after two years and the other having a re-election after four years.
  • A representative must be at least 21 years of age, a citizen of Texas for two years prior to election and a resident of the district from which elected one year prior to election. They are elected for two-year terms, running for re-election in even-numbered years.[42]

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

Texas State Senate

See also: Texas State Senate

The current make-up of the Texas Legislature is as follows: There are 31 Senators in the Texas State Senate.

As of the 2020 Census, Texas state senators represented an average of 941,396 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 815,110 residents.

Party As of January 2024
     Democratic Party 11
     Republican Party 19
     Other 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 31

Click here for a list of members of this chamber.

Republicans won control of the Texas State Senate in 1996. In 2022, they won a 19-12 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Texas Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Texas State Senate election results: 1992-2022

Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
Democrats 18 17 15 15 15 12 12 11 12 12 12 11 11 12 13 12
Republicans 13 14 16 16 16 19 19 20 19 19 19 20 20 19 18 19

Texas House of Representatives

See also: Texas House of Representatives

There are 150 representatives in the Texas House of Representatives.

As of the 2020 Census, Texas state representatives represented an average of 194,555 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 168,456 residents.

Party As of January 2024
     Democratic Party 64
     Republican Party 85
     Other 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 150

Click here for a list of members of this chamber.


Republicans won control of the Texas House of Representatives in 2002. In 2022, they won an 86-64 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Texas House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Texas House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022

Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20 '22
Democrats 91 89 82 79 78 62 63 69 74 51 55 52 55 67 67 64
Republicans 58 61 68 71 72 88 87 81 76 99 95 98 95 83 83 86


District maps

State Senate

Texas State Senate Districts
until January 9, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Texas State Senate Districts
starting January 10, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.


State House

Texas State House Districts
until January 9, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Texas State House Districts
starting January 10, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.


Veto overrides

Veto Override Graphic-No party.png

See also: Veto overrides in state legislatures

State legislatures can override governors' vetoes. Depending on the state, this can be done during the regular legislative session, in a special session following the adjournment of the regular session, or during the next legislative session. The rules for legislative overrides of gubernatorial vetoes in Texas are listed below.

How many legislators are required to vote for an override? Two-thirds of members present in both chambers.

Two-thirds of members present in both chambers must vote to override a veto. If all members are in attendance, this is 100 of the 150 members in the Texas House of Representatives and 21 of the 31 members in the Texas State Senate. Texas is one of 36 states that requires a two-thirds vote from both of its legislative chambers to override a veto.

Authority: Article 4, Section 14 of the Texas Constitution.

"Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the Legislature shall be presented to the Governor for his approval. If he approve he shall sign it; but if he disapprove it, he shall return it, with his objections, to the House in which it originated, which House shall enter the objections at large upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the members present agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other House, by which likewise it shall be reconsidered; and, if approved by two-thirds of the members of that House, it shall become a law; but in such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively."

Redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Texas

In Texas, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the Texas State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.[43]

If the state legislature is unable to approve a state legislative redistricting plan, a backup commission must draw the lines (the backup commission is not involved in congressional redistricting). This backup commission, established in 1948, comprises the following members:[43]

  1. Lieutenant governor
  2. Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
  3. Attorney general
  4. State comptroller
  5. Commissioner of the General Land Office

The Texas Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and "that they preserve whole counties when population mandates permit."[43]

2020

See also: Redistricting in Texas after the 2020 census

Texas enacted new legislative district boundaries in June 2023 for use in 2024 and until the 2030 census. These districts were the same as those enacted by the state in October 2021. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed HB 1000—establishing state House district boundaries—on June 12, 2023, and he allowed SB 375—establishing state Senate district boundaries—to become law without his signature on June 18, 2023.[44][45] The Texas Tribune's James Barragan wrote in January 2023 that Senate Legislative Redistricting Committee Chairperson Joan Huffman (R) said the state was re-doing the redistricting process "to ensure that Legislature had met its constitutional requirement to apportion districts in the first regular session after the publishing of the results of the federal census, which is done every 10 years. Because of the pandemic, census numbers were not released until after the end of the last regularly scheduled legislative session on May 31, 2021. Redistricted maps were passed in a subsequent special session that year."[46] Texas had originally enacted new state legislative districts on October 25, 2021.

Texas had originally enacted new state legislative districts on October 25, 2021. After both sets of legislative district maps passed their respective chambers, the House and Senate both approved maps for the other chamber's districts on October 15, 2021. The House approved the Senate map by an 81-60 vote, and the Senate approved the House map by an 18-13 vote.[47] Gov. Abbott signed both maps into law on October 25, 2021.[48]These maps took effect for Texas' 2022 legislative elections.

In a filing for a motion to stay in League of United Latin American Citizens, et al., v. Abbott, et al., in April 2022, legal representatives from the state said, “...article III, section 28 of the Texas Constitution requires that “[t]he Legislature shall, at its first regular session after the publication of each United States decennial census, apportion the state into senatorial and representative districts, agreeable to the provisions of Sections 25 and 26 of” Article III of the Constitution. In this instance, due to the U.S. Census Bureau’s delays in releasing the necessary data, that first regular session is the 2023 regular session. The State has already acknowledged that while federal law required the State to reapportion sooner than 2023, that does not relieve the State of its obligation to enact redistricting legislation in 2023 as required by its Constitution.”[49]

2010

See also: Redistricting in Texas after the 2010 census

Texas received its local census data on February 17, 2011. The state grew 20.6%, with Hispanics making up at least 2/3 of that growth. As far as the large cities, Houston grew by 7.5 percent, San Antonio grew by 16.0 percent, Dallas grew by 0.8 percent, Austin grew by 20.4 percent, and Fort Worth grew by 38.6 percent. However, Harris County -- of which Houston is the seat -- grew by 20%, suggesting suburban growth.[50]

In 2012, Texas held elections under interim maps drawn by a federal court after the Legislature's passed maps were thrown out by a panel of three federal judges on Voting Rights Act grounds. The panel drew up its own maps, but the federal court struck down those as well, substituting its own so that the elections could proceed.

Legislators

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2023
SalaryPer diem
$7,200/year$221/day

Pension

When calculating a legislators pension, their normal salary is artificially inflated to $125,000. This goes back to 1981, when lawmakers linked their salaries to those of state judges. Since then, they raised judges' salaries while removing the caps on their own pensions, pushing the maximum benefit up to 100% of a judge's salary.

In 2011, this resulted in an average state employee pension of $17,526 annually. The maximum pension a legislator can earn is $125,000, of which Rep. Tom Craddick (R) will be the first to qualify for when he retires. [51]

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Texas legislators assume office at the beginning of the legislative session, which starts at noon on the second Tuesday in January in the year after the election.[52]

Amending the constitution

The Texas legislature has the authority to propose amendments to the Texas Constitution. Proposed amendments must be approved in a joint resolution of both the Texas State Senate and the Texas House of Representatives. The joint resolution can originate in either the House or the Senate.

The resolution must be adopted by a vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house of the legislature. That amounts to a minimum of 100 votes in the House of Representatives and 21 votes in the Senate.

Amendments may be proposed in either regular or special sessions.

Joint Committees

In the Texas state government, Joint Committees are comprised of members of both the Texas State Senate and the Texas House of Representatives, and sometimes civilian members of executive agencies, commissions, and councils. Joint committees are created by the Lieutenant Governor Speaker of the House through special proclamation. Under normal circumstances, joint committees in Texas are created to operate in the interim of legislative sessions, and rarely during a session. All joint committees in Texas are classified as select committees, and do not carry over between legislative sessions.[53]

2011-2012

The Texas Legislature had one joint committee:

2009-2010

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

Who Runs the States Project
See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Texas
Partisan breakdown of the Texas legislature from 1992-2013

Texas Senate: From 1992-2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the Texas State Senate for five years while the Republicans were the majority for 17 years. Texas was under Republican trifectas for the final 11 years of the study.

Across the country, there were 541 Democratic and 517 Republican state senates from 1992 to 2013.

Texas House: From 1992-2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the Texas State House of Representatives for the first 11 years while the Republicans were the majority for the last 11 years. Texas was under Republican trifectas for the final 11 years of the study.

Across the country, there were 577 Democratic and 483 Republican State Houses of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Texas, the Texas State Senate and the Texas House of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

Partisan composition of Texas state government(1992-2013).PNG

SQLI and partisanship

To read the full report on the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI) in PDF form, click here.

Texas was one of eight states to demonstrate a dramatic partisan shift in the 22 years studied. A dramatic shift was defined by a movement of 40 percent or more toward one party over the course of the study period. Texas started out with Democratic trifectas but shifted to Republican trifectas by the end of the study.

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Texas state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. Prior to Republican trifectas, which started in 2003, the SQLI rating for Texas stayed consistently in the 30s, except for its lowest ranking of 40 in 1994 during a Democratic trifecta. Within a few years of the Republican trifectas that ranking moved up, and Texas finished 11th, its highest ranking, in 2012.

  • SQLI average with Democratic trifecta: 36.67
  • SQLI average with Republican trifecta: 18.00
  • SQLI average with divided government: 33.63
Chart displaying the partisanship of Texas government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).

Constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods in which the Texas Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article 17 of the Texas Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Texas

The Texas Constitution provides one mechanism for amending the state's constitution—legislatively referred constitutional amendments. Texas requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

According to Article 17, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Texas State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 100 votes in the Texas House of Representatives and 21 votes in the Texas State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.



2025 measures:

See also: 2025 ballot measures

Certified:

The following measures were certified for the ballot.

No measures to list



2024 measures:

Below is a list of measures that were referred to the 2024 ballot by the legislature.

See also: Texas 2024 ballot measures

Certified:

The following measures were certified for the ballot.

No measures to list

See also

Elections Texas State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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Texas State Flag-Close Up.jpg
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State Courts-Tile image.png

External links

Footnotes

  1. TSHA, "Texas Legislature," accessed October 12, 2018
  2. Texas Legislature Online, "Bill: HB 1000," accessed June 21, 2023
  3. Texas Legislature Online, "Bill: SB 375," accessed June 21, 2023
  4. The Texas Tribune, "Texas Senate votes to take up redistricting again," January 11, 2023
  5. National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Systems," accessed May 29, 2017
  6. Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2018 Election Dates," accessed September 11, 2017
  7. National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Systems," accessed May 29, 2017
  8. Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2018 Election Dates," accessed September 11, 2017
  9. Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
  10. Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2016 Election Dates," accessed December 14, 2015
  11. Texas State Legislature, "Texas Govt. Code 3.A.301.A001," accessed February 17, 2021
  12. texas.gov, "Proclamation by the Governor of the State of Texas," July 10, 2017
  13. texas.gov, "Supplemental Call," July 10, 2017
  14. Texas Tribune, "Texas Senate moves to fast-track special session agenda," July 18, 2017
  15. Texas Tribune, "Senate gives OK to must-pass "sunset" legislation in midnight vote," July 19, 2017
  16. The Texas Tribune, "Texas House approves sending first two special session bills to governor," August 10, 2017
  17. Texas Tribune, "Tears and shouting on Texas House floor as Freedom Caucus delays bills to death," May 11, 2017
  18. Texas Freedom Caucus, "Abbott Must Call a Special Session," May 31, 2017
  19. Aman Batheja, Texas Tribune, "Transportation Funding Likely to Be Big Issue in 2015" accessed January 29, 2015
  20. kten.com, "Texas Lawmakers To Tackle Redistricting In Special Session," May 29, 2013
  21. Star-Telegram, "As lawmakers return to Austin this week, a heap of work awaits," January 6, 2013
  22. American Spectator, "Transparency for Thee," October 25, 2013
  23. Daily Texas Online, "Facing impeachment, Regent Wallace Hall defends actions in debate with Sen. Kirk Watson," September 28, 2013
  24. Daily Texas Online, "Former UT System vice chancellor alleges Regent Wallace Hall’s ‘clear intent to get rid of Bill Powers’," October 24, 2013
  25. Dallas Morning News, "UT regent sought 800,000 documents, official says in impeachment hearing," October 22, 2013
  26. Watchdog, "‘Witch hunt’ fallout: Speaker calls for narrower public records law," February 5, 2014
  27. Texas Tribune, "UT System Responds to Transparency Committee Directives," February 3, 2014
  28. Texas Tribune, "Cigarroa letter to the Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations," February 1, 2014
  29. Texas Tribune, "UT Regent Wallace Hall Updates Lawsuit Disclosures," April 30, 2013
  30. Real Clear Policy, "The Campaign Against Wallace Hall," August 15, 2013
  31. Watchdog.org, "Case against UT regent Wallace Hall is a sham — here’s proof," September 6, 2013
  32. News-Journal, "University of Texas regent not worried by impeachment inquiry," September 9, 2013
  33. Texas Tribune, "Transparency Committee to Mull Impeachment of UT Regent," June 25, 2013
  34. Texas Tribune, "Perry Blasts Impeachment Probe of Wallace Hall," October 30, 2013
  35. Texas Public Radio, "UT Regent Wallace Hall Will Testify In Impeachment Hearing," November 13, 2013
  36. Texas State House Committees, "Transparency in State Agency Operations Committee Members," accessed October 31, 2013
  37. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar," accessed June 6, 2014(Archived)
  38. The Texas Tribune, "The Official Agenda for a New Session," May 30, 2011
  39. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2010 session dates for Texas legislature," December 8, 2010
  40. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2009 Legislative Sessions Calendar," March 11, 2010
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 National Association of State Budget Officers, "Budget Processes in the States, Spring 2021," accessed January 24, 2023
  42. Texas Secretary of State, "Qualifications for All Public Offices," accessed February 16, 2021
  43. 43.0 43.1 43.2 All About Redistricting, "Texas," accessed May 7, 2015
  44. Texas Legislature Online, "Bill: HB 1000," accessed June 21, 2023
  45. Texas Legislature Online, "Bill: SB 375," accessed June 21, 2023
  46. The Texas Tribune, "Texas Senate votes to take up redistricting again," January 11, 2023
  47. Texas Tribune, "Lawmakers send to Gov. Greg Abbott new political maps that would further solidify the GOP’s grip on the Texas Legislature," October 15, 2021
  48. Texas Tribune, "Gov. Greg Abbott signs off on Texas’ new political maps, which protect GOP majorities while diluting voices of voters of color," October 25, 2021
  49. United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, League of United Latin American Citizens, et al., v. Abbott, et al., April 20, 2022
  50. U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. Census Bureau Delivers Texas' 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting," February 17, 2011
  51. USA Today, "State lawmakers pump up pensions in ways you can't," September 23, 2011
  52. Texas Government Code, "Title 3., Subtitle A., Sec. 301.001," accessed November 23, 2016
  53. This information about joint legislative committees in Texas is from an email dated March 21, 2011, from the Applications Administrator of the Texas Legislature's website to Jimmy Ardis, a staff writer for Ballotpedia.