TheTexas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralTexas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are noterm limits. The House meets at theState Capitol inAustin.
TheSpeaker 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 variouscommittees 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 otherstate legislatures, the House rules do not formally recognizemajority orminority leaders. The unofficial leaders are the Republican Caucus Chairman and the Democratic House Leader, both of whom are elected by their respective caucuses.
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 asTexas Secretary of State
Charlie Wilson, U.S. Representative (1973–1996), subject of thebook andfilmCharlie Wilson's War
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]
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]
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]
International Relations & Economic Development (9)
As of 2021[update] the committee examines theTexas Workforce Commission. That year, Christopher Hooks, R.G. Ratcliffe and Andrea Zelinski ofTexas 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."[10] Some lawmakers are placed on the committee as a means of disciplining them.[10]
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 andSenate:
^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.
^Davis, Erin (December 11, 2024)."Texas House Democratic Caucus elects Gene Wu to lead party".Spectrum News.His counterpart, House Republican Caucus Chair Rep. Tom Oliverson, of Cypress, says he and Wu don't agree on policy, but he's learned from his legislating.
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