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The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no term limits. The House meets at the State Capitol in Austin.
Texas House of Representatives | |
|---|---|
| Eighty-eighth Texas Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | of the Texas Legislature |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
New session started | January 10, 2023 |
| Leadership | |
Speaker pro tempore | Charlie Geren (R) since February 8, 2023 |
Majority Leader | Tom Oliverson (R) since April 3, 2024 |
Minority Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 150 |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 2 years |
| Authority | Article 3, Texas Constitution |
| Salary | $7,200/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | November 8, 2022 (150 seats) |
Next election | November 5, 2024 (150 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative control |
| Meeting place | |
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| House of Representatives Chamber Texas State Capitol Austin, Texas | |
| Website | |
| Texas House of Representatives | |
The leadership for the 88th Legislature is as follows:
| Position | Name | Party | Residence | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speaker of the House | Dade Phelan | Republican | Beaumont | 21 |
| Speaker Pro Tempore | Charlie Geren | Republican | Fort Worth | 99 |
| Republican Caucus Chair | Tom Oliverson | Republican | Cypress | 130 |
| Democratic House Leader | Trey Martinez Fischer | Democratic | San Antonio | 116 |
The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer and highest-ranking member of the House. The Speaker's duties include maintaining order within the House, recognizing members during debate, ruling on procedural matters, appointing members to the various committees and sending bills for committee review.
The Speaker pro tempore is primarily a ceremonial position, but does, by long-standing tradition, preside over the House during its consideration of local and consent bills.
Unlike other state legislatures, the House rules do not formally recognize majority or minority leaders. The unofficial leaders are the Republican Caucus Chairman and the Democratic House Leader, both of whom are elected by their respective caucuses.
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Republicans currently hold a majority of seats in the House.
Texas' legislative districts are an example of gerrymandering; however, requirements in the Texas Constitution are more strict than other states. [1][2][citation needed]
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Democratic | Ind | Vacant | ||
| End 2010 | 75 | 73 | 0 | 148 | 2 |
| Begin 2011 | 101 | 49 | 0 | 150 | 0 |
| End 2012 | 48 | 149 | 1 | ||
| Begin 2013 | 95 | 55 | 0 | 150 | 0 |
| End 2014 | |||||
| Begin 2015 | 98 | 52 | 0 | 150 | 0 |
| End 2016 | 99 | 50 | 1 | ||
| Begin 2017 | 95 | 55 | 0 | 150 | 0 |
| End 2018 | 94 | 56 | |||
| 2019–2020 | 83 | 67 | 0 | 150 | 0 |
| Begin 2021[a] | 82 | 67 | 0 | 149 | 1 |
| End 2022 | 85 | 65 | 150 | 0 | |
| Begin 2023 | 86 | 64 | 0 | 150 | 0 |
| May 9, 2023[b] | 85 | 149 | 1 | ||
| February 14, 2024[c] | 86 | 150 | 0 | ||
| August 15, 2024[d] | 85 | 149 | 1 | ||
| August 30, 2024[e] | 86 | 63 | |||
| Latest voting share | 57.7% | 42.3% | |||
Republican Party
Democratic Party
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Notable past members
- Eligio (Kika) De La Garza, II, first Mexican-American to represent his region in the US House and the second Mexican-American from Texas to be elected to Congress (1965–1997).[4]
- Ray Barnhart, Federal Highway Administrator (1981–1987)
- Anita Lee Blair, first blind woman elected to a state legislature
- Jack Brooks, U.S. Representative (1953–1995)
- Dolph Briscoe, Governor of Texas (1973–1979)
- Frank Kell Cahoon, Midland County oilman and representative from 1965 to 1969; only Republican member in 1965 legislative session
- Joaquin Castro, U.S. Representative (2013–present)
- Jasmine Crockett, U.S. Representative (2023–present)
- Henry Cuellar, U.S. Representative (2005–present)
- Tom DeLay, U.S. Representative (1985–2006) and House Majority Leader (2003–2005)
- Jake Ellzey, U.S. Representative (2022–present)
- Pat Fallon, U.S. Representative (2021–present)
- John Nance Garner, U.S. Representative (1903–1933), Speaker of the House (1931–1933), and Vice President of the United States (1933–1941)
- Lance Gooden, U.S. Representative (2019–present)
- Sarah T. Hughes, United States district court judge
- Suzanna Hupp, House of Representatives (1997–2007), survived the Luby's shooting, went on to champion individual gun ownership and carry rights.
- Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Senator (1993–2013)
- Ray Hutchinson, husband of Kay Bailey Hutchison
- Eddie Bernice Johnson, first Black woman ever elected to public office from Dallas, first woman in Texas history to lead a major Texas House committee (the Labor Committee), and the first registered nurse elected to Congress.
- Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr., father of President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
- Mickey Leland, U.S. Representative (1979–1989), died in a plane crash.
- Charles Henry Nimitz (1826–1911) Born in Bremen. In 1852, built the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg, which now houses the National Museum of the Pacific War. Grandfather of United States Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Elected to the Texas Legislature 1890.
- Rick Perry, longest serving Governor of Texas, (2000–2015) and former U.S. Secretary of Energy (2017–2019).
- Colonel Alfred P.C. Petsch (1925–1941) Lawyer, legislator, civic leader, and philanthropist. Veteran of both World War I and World War II.
- Sam Rayburn, U.S. Representative (1913–1961) and longest served Speaker of the House (1940–1947, 1949–1953, 1955–1961)
- Coke R. Stevenson, Governor of Texas (1941–1947)
- Marc Veasey, U.S. Representative (2013–present)
- Randy Weber, U.S. Representative (2013–present)
- Sarah Weddington, attorney for "Jane Roe" for the 1973 Roe v. Wade case in the U.S. Supreme Court
- Ferdinand C. Weinert, coauthored bill to establish the Pasteur Institute of Texas, authored resolution for humane treatment of state convicts, coauthored the indeterminate sentence and parole law. Also served as Texas Secretary of State
- Charlie Wilson, U.S. Representative (1973–1996), subject of the book and film Charlie Wilson's War
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Speaker of the House
The Speaker of the House of Representatives has duties as a presiding officer as well as administrative duties. As a presiding officer, the Speaker must enforce, apply, and interpret the rules of the House, call House members to order, lay business in order before the House and receive propositions made by members, refer proposed legislation to a committee, preserve order and decorum, recognize people in the gallery, state and hold votes on questions, vote as a member of the House, decide on all questions to order, appoint the Speaker Pro Tempore and Temporary Chair, adjourn the House in the event of an emergency, postpone reconvening in the event of an emergency, and sign all bills, joint resolutions, and concurrent resolutions. The administrative duties of the Speaker include having control over the Hall of the House, appointing chair, vice-chair, and members to each standing committee, appointing all conference committees, and directing committees to make interim studies.[5]
Chief Clerk
The Chief Clerk is the head of the Chief Clerk's Office which maintains a record of all authors who sign legislation, maintains and distributes membership information to current house members, and forwards copies of legislation to house committee chairs.[6] The Chief Clerk is the primary custodian of all legal documents within House. Additional duties include keeping a record of all progress on a document, attesting all warrants, writs, and subpoenas, receiving and filing all documents received by the house, and maintaining the electronic information and calendar for documents. When there is a considerable update of the electronic source website, the Chief Clerk is also responsible for noticing House members via email.[5]
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The committee structure below is valid for the 88th Legislature (numbers in parentheses are the number of committee members; under House rules 1/2 of each committee's membership is determined by seniority and the remaining 1/2 by the Speaker of the House, excluding Procedural Committees[note 1] the membership of which are wholly chosen by the Speaker).[7]
- Agriculture and Livestock (9)
- Appropriations[note 2] (27)
- Subcommittee on Articles I, IV & V
- Subcommittee on Article II
- Subcommittee on Article III
- Subcommittee on Articles VI, VII & VIII
- Subcommittee on Strategic Fiscal Review
- Business & Industry (9)
- Calendars (11)
- Community Safety (select)
- Corrections (9)
- County Affairs (9)
- Criminal Jurisprudence (9)
- Culture, Recreation & Tourism (9)
- Defense & Veterans' Affairs (9)
- Elections (9)
- Energy Resources (11)
- Environmental Regulation (9)
- General Investigating (5)
- Health Care Reform (select)
- Higher Education (11)
- Homeland Security & Public Safety (9)
- House Administration (11)
- Human Services (9)
- Insurance (9)
- International Relations & Economic Development (9)
- As of 2021[update] the committee examines the Texas Workforce Commission. That year, Christopher Hooks, R.G. Ratcliffe and Andrea Zelinski of Texas Monthly stated that the competencies are "vital" even though there is a lack of prestige in being assigned to this committee, stating that it is "not a sexy assignment" and comparing being placed on it to "getting cast as a tree in your high school play."[8] Some lawmakers are placed on the committee as a means of disciplining them.[8]
- Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence (9)
- Juvenile Justice & Family Issues (9)
- Land & Resource Management (9)
- Licensing & Administrative Procedures (11)
- Local & Consent Calendars (11)
- Natural Resources (11)
- Pensions, Investments & Financial Services (9)
- Public Education (13)
- Public Health (11)
- Redistricting (15)
- Resolutions Calendars (11)
- State Affairs (13)
- Transportation (13)
- Urban Affairs (9)
- Ways & Means (11)
- Youth Health & Safety (select)
In addition to these committees, there are also six joint committees composed of members of both the State House and Senate:
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- Republican Drew Springer (District 68) resigned intersession on December 19, 2020, after being elected in a special election to the Texas Senate.
- Republican Bryan Slaton (District 2) was expelled from the House for inappropriate conduct with one of his interns.
- Republican Jill Dutton was sworn in to succeed Slaton.
- Republican Charles Anderson (District 56) resigned.
- Democrat Shawn Thierry (District 146) switched parties to Republican.[3]
- The following committees are considered Procedural: Calendars, Local & Consent Calendars, Resolutions Calendars, General Investigating, House Administration, and Redistricting.
- The biennial appropriations bill is divided into eight Articles: General Government (I), Health and Human Services (II), Agencies of Education (III), The Judiciary (IV), Public Safety and Criminal Justice (V), Natural Resources (VI), Business and Economic Development (VII), and Regulatory (VIII).
- This committees is composed of six members: the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor (who serve as joint chairs), the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees, and one Senator appointed by the Lieutenant Governor; the Committee in turn hires and oversees the State Auditor of Texas.
- This committee is composed of ten members: the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor (who serve as joint chairs), the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees, three Senators appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and two Representatives appointed by the Speaker.
- This committee is composed of six members: the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, two Senators appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and one Representative appointed by the Speaker.
- This committee is composed of 14 members: the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor (who serve as joint chairs), the Chair of the House Administration Committee, six Senators appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and five Representatives appointed by the Speaker.
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