The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, with populations of approximately 806,000 per constituency, based on the 2010 U.S. Census. There are no

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

, and each term is four years long. Elections are held in even-numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. In elections in years ending in 2, all seats are up for election. Half of the senators will serve a two-year term, based on a drawing; the other half will fill regular four-year terms. In the case of the latter, they or their successors will be up for two-year terms in the next year that ends in 0. As such, in other elections, about half of the Texas Senate is on the ballot. The Senate meets at the Texas State Capitol in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. The Republicans currently control the chamber, which is made up of 18 Republicans and 13 Democrats.

Leadership

The

Lieutenant Governor of Texas The lieutenant governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662& ...

serves as the

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ex ...

. Unlike most lieutenant governors who are constitutionally designated as presiding officers of the upper house, the Lieutenant Governor regularly exercises this function. 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 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 the most powerful lieutenant governorships in the United States. Unlike other state legislatures, the Texas Senate does not include

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Websterminority leaders. Instead, the

President Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase '' pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

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 the Senate. The President Pro Tempore presides when the Lieutenant Governor is not present or when the legislature is not in regular session.

Leaders

History

Quorum-busting

There have been at least three cases of

quorum-busting A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', th ...

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 the time.Fikac, Peggy, August 21, 2003
Senators' 1870 walkout also drew GOP's wrath Reconstruction-era tiff led to arrests and one expulsion
''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

Committee structure

The following represents the Senate committee structure for the 86th Legislature. *Administration *Agriculture *Business & Commerce *Criminal Justice *Education *Finance *Health & Human Services *Higher Education *Intergovernmental Relations *Natural Resources & Economic Development *Nominations *Property Tax *State Affairs *Transportation *Veteran Affairs & Border Security *Water & Rural Affairs In addition, the House and Senate operate the permanent joint committee known as the Legislative Budget Board (LBB).

Current composition

List of members

†Elected in a special election

Notable past members

* Edward Clark,

(1859–1861),

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, w ...

(1861). *

Wayne Connally Wayne Wright Connally (March 19, 1923 – December 20, 2000) was an American politician. He served as a Democratic member for the 58th district of the Texas House of Representatives. He also served as a member for the 21st district of the T ...

, Senator from Wilson County (1967–1973), brother of Governor John Connally. *

Lloyd Doggett Lloyd Alton Doggett II (born October 6, 1946) is an American attorney and politician who is a U.S. representative from Texas. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented a district based in Austin since 1995, currently numbered as Tex ...

, Texas Supreme Court Justice (1989–1994), U.S. House of Representatives (1995–present). *

Robert L. Duncan Robert Lloyd Duncan (born August 5, 1953) is an American attorney and politician who served as the fourth chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, serving from 2014 to 2018. A Republican, he previously served as a member of both houses ...

, State Senator from Lubbock, 1996–2014; Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System since 2014 *

Chet Edwards Thomas Chester Edwards (born November 24, 1951) is an American politician who was a United States Representative from Texas, representing a district based in Waco, from 1991 to 2011. Previously, he served in the Texas Senate from 1983 to 1990. He ...

, U.S. House of Representatives (1991–2011). * James W. Flanagan, U.S. Senate (1870–1875). *

Glenn Hegar Glenn Allen Hegar Jr. (born 25 November 1970)State Sen. Glenn H ...

, current Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (2015–present). *

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomin ...

, Texas Supreme Court Justice (1876),

(1883–1887). *

Eddie Bernice Johnson Eddie Bernice Johnson (born December 3, 1935) is an American politician who represents Texas's in the United States House of Representatives. Johnson is a member of the Democratic Party. Elected in 1992, Johnson was the first registered nurse ...

, U.S. House of Representatives (1993–present). * Rienzi Melville Johnston, U.S. Senate (1913). * Barbara Jordan, U.S. House of Representatives (1973–1979). * Earle Bradford Mayfield, U.S. Senate (1923–1929). * William Neff "Bill" Patman, Senator from Jackson County (1961–1981), U.S. House of Representatives (1981–1985). * Dan Patrick, current

(2015–present). *

Jerry E. Patterson Jerry Emmett Patterson (born November 15, 1946) is an American politician who served as the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office from 2003 to 2015. A former state senator, he was the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve as l ...

, Commissioner of the

Texas General Land Office The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is a state agency of the U.S. state of Texas, responsible for managing lands and mineral rights properties that are owned by the state. The GLO also manages and contributes to the state's Permanent School Fund. ...

(2003–2015). *

Lawrence Sullivan Ross Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross (September 27, 1838January 3, 1898) was the 19th governor of Texas, a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and the seventh president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now ...

, (1887–1891). *

Joseph D. Sayers Joseph Draper Sayers (September 23, 1841 – May 15, 1929) was the 22nd Governor of Texas from 1899 to 1903. During Sayers's term, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 demolished that city. Early years Joseph Sayers was born September 23, 1841 ...

(1879–1881), U.S. House of Representatives (1885–1899),

(1899–1903). *

Allan Shivers Robert Allan Shivers (; October 5, 1907 – January 14, 1985) was an American politician who served as the 37th governor of Texas. Shivers was a leader of the Texas Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s and developed the lieutenan ...

(1946–1949),

(1949–1957). * Preston Smith,

(1969–1973). *

Frank Tejeda Frank Mariano Tejeda (October 2, 1945 – January 30, 1997) was a decorated United States Marine and an American Democratic politician from Texas. He served in the Texas House of Representatives (1976–1987), the Texas Senate (1987–1993), and ...

, U.S. House of Representatives (1993–1997). * James W. Throckmorton,

(1866–1867), U.S. House of Representatives (1875–1879, 1883–1887). *

Carlos Truan Carlos Flores Truan Sr. (June 9, 1935 – April 10, 2012), was an American businessman from Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi, Texas, who served for thirty-four years as a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat in both houses of the Texa ...

, Senator from Corpus Christi (1977–2003); author of Texas Bilingual Education Act. * Jim Turner, U.S. House of Representatives (1997–2005). * Matthias Ward, U.S. Senate (1858–1859). *

Ferdinand C. Weinert Ferdinand C. Weinert (July 14, 1853 – February 19, 1939) was a merchant and politician from Seguin, Texas, who served in the Texas Legislature, four years in the Senate and four terms in the House, and well as serving as Secretary of State ...

, Texas House and Texas Senate (1893–1935),

Texas Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Texas is one of the six members of the executive department of the State of Texas in the United States. Under the Constitution of Texas, the appointment is made by the governor of Texas, with confirmation by the Texas ...

(1913). * Louis Wigfall, U.S. Senate (1859–1861). * Charles Wilson, U.S. House of Representatives (1973–1997).

Past composition of the Senate

The Senate was continuously held by Democrats from the end of the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

until the

Seventy-fifth Texas Legislature The 75th Texas Legislature met from January 14, 1997 to June 2, 1997. All members present during this session were elected in the 1996 general elections. The Republicans won the Texas State Senate chamber for the first time since Reconstruction in t ...

was seated in 1997, at which point Republicans took control. The Republican Party has maintained its control of the Senate since then.

References

External links

Official Texas Senate website
{{Coord, 30.274537, -97.739906, format=dms, display=title 01 01 . Government of Texas State upper houses in the United States