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.
Leadership
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 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.
Composition
Republicans currently hold a majority of seats in the House.
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).[6]
Ray Barnhart, Federal Highway Administrator (1981–1987)
Anita Lee Blair, first blind woman elected to a state legislature
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.
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
filmCharlie Wilson's War
Officials
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.[7]
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.[8] 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.[7]
Committee structure
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).[9]
^In June 2023 Jetton was called into active military service; he appointed his wife, Fanny, as temporary replacement during the first and second called sessions. He returned to his legislative duties in October 2023.
^Elected as a Democrat but switched parties on November 15, 2021
^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.