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17-555: House Bill 1068, authored by Texas Senate members Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa and John Whitmire and Texas House of Representatives member Joe Driver , added 38.01 Texas Forensic Science Commission ("FSC"), specifying the establishment of the agency. 1068 was passed during the 2005 Legislative Session. In 2007 the FSC funds were appropriated to Sam Houston State. On July 23, 2010, the Texas Forensic Science Commission released

34-511: 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

51-485: A report saying that the conviction of Cameron Todd Willingham was based on "flawed science" but did not find sufficient evidence to indicate that the arson investigators were negligent or committed willful misconduct. This Texas -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Texas Senate Minority The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature , with

68-689: A vote should a Senate floor vote end in a tie. If the Senate votes to dissolve itself into the Committee of the Whole, in which all members are part of the Committee, the President Pro-Tempore presides over the proceedings, with the Lieutenant Governor acting as a regular voting member. Due to the various powers of committee selection and bill assignment, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas is considered one of

85-538: 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. 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

102-537: 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 . The leadership for the 88th Legislature is as follows: The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer and highest-ranking member of the House. The Speaker's duties include maintaining order within

119-629: The President of the Senate . Unlike most lieutenant governors who are constitutionally designated as presiding officers of the upper house, the Lieutenant Governor regularly presides over the chamber rather than delegate this role to the President Pro Tempore . The Lieutenant Governor's duties include appointing chairs of committees, committee members, assigning and referring bills to specific committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. The Lieutenant Governor may also cast

136-459: The Texas House of Representatives being the lower house . Together, they compose the state legislature of the state of Texas . There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas , with populations of approximately 940,000 per constituency, based on the 2020 U.S. Census . Elections are held in even-numbered years on the first Tuesday after

153-478: 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

170-649: The Republican Caucus Chairman and the Democratic House Leader, both of whom are elected by their respective caucuses. 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. The Speaker of the House of Representatives has duties as a presiding officer as well as administrative duties. As

187-574: The Senate. The President Pro Tempore presides when the Lieutenant Governor is not present or when the legislature is not in regular session. There have been at least three cases of quorum-busting in Texas Senate history. The first case was in 1870, with the Rump Senate , followed by the 1979 Killer Bees and finally the "Texas Eleven" in August 2003 during the controversial mid-decade redistricting plan at

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204-588: 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. The Chief Clerk

221-542: The end of the Reconstruction era until the Seventy-fifth Texas Legislature was seated in 1997, at which point Republicans took control. The Republican Party has maintained its control of the Senate since then. 30°16′28″N 97°44′24″W  /  30.274537°N 97.739906°W  / 30.274537; -97.739906 Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives

238-604: The first Monday in November. There are no term limits . Terms are four years in length, with one two-year term each decade. Senators are divided into two groups based in part on the intervening Census: As such, every two years, about half of the Texas Senate is on the ballot. The Senate meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin . The Republicans currently control the chamber, which is made up of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats. The Lieutenant Governor of Texas serves as

255-406: 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. 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

272-539: The most powerful lieutenant governorships in the United States. 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. Presidents Pro Tempore are usually the most senior members of

289-585: The time. The following represents the Senate committee structure for the 88th Legislature (numbers in parentheses are the number of committee members, as appointed by the President of the Texas Senate). In addition to these committees, there are also six joint committees composed of members of both the State Senate and House : † Elected in a special election The Senate was continuously held by Democrats from

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