Texas Legislature 2023: Understanding how bills become law and more

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The first time Shera Eichler entered the Texas Capitol to work as a legislative aide in 2002, she was nervous. She didn’t have a lot expertise on the Capitol, aside from a go to by means of a college discipline journey.

But she was shortly promoted a few month later to chief of employees for a Republican state consultant on account of a emptiness.

Now, Eichler, a authorities affairs marketing consultant, is aware of the legislative course of effectively, having labored for that consultant for about 18 years. She credit it to her willingness to ask questions and to having seasoned mentors.

“It is not unusual to ask the questions,” she mentioned. “There are so many new faces every session and so many people learning.”

Lawmakers begin convening in the present day to symbolize the voters who elected them into workplace, and there are numerous methods for Texans to be taught and get entangled as representatives and senators vote on every thing from abortion coverage to public training funding.

Here’s a rundown of how the Texas Legislature works and how you may take part in it.

What is the Texas Legislature?

The Texas Legislature is made up of the 150-member Texas House of Representatives, referred to as the decrease chamber, and the 31-member Texas Senate, referred to as the higher chamber. Each member represents a geographic district. These political districts have been redrawn in 2021. Find your districts here and your lawmakers here.

After the 2022 elections, Republicans maintain 86 of the seats within the House and 19 of the seats within the Senate.

Every odd-numbered 12 months, the state Legislature gathers to cross a two-year state funds and different legal guidelines from January to May. This is called a daily legislative session.

The governor also can name for lawmakers to convene for up to 30 days outdoors of this timeframe throughout a particular session wherein lawmakers can cross legal guidelines solely on points outlined by the governor. In 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott called three special sessions to handle voting laws, COVID-19 aid funds and redistricting, amongst different issues.

How does a invoice become a law in Texas?

Lawmakers have been filing bills since Nov. 14, and more than 1,600 bills have been filed already. Lawmakers can proceed submitting any bills throughout the first 60 calendar days of the legislative session. After that time, solely bills associated to native issues or emergency objects and appropriations will be filed, until four-fifths of lawmakers are current in a chamber vote to droop the rule.

While hundreds of bills are filed — more than 7,000 bills have been filed within the two most up-to-date common periods — solely round a thousand will cross.

“The system is designed to kill legislation, not pass legislation,” mentioned Kathy Green, the director of state and federal technique for AARP Texas who has 30 years of expertise working within the Legislature, in state businesses and with curiosity teams.

First, a invoice should be referred to a committee within the chamber the place it was launched by the speaker of the House or the lieutenant governor within the Senate. The committee chair then decides which laws can be thought-about when the committee meets.

If a committee takes up a invoice, a public listening to with alternative for public testimony is held. The committee can then select to report, or advance, a invoice to the remainder of the chamber or to not take motion on the laws.

Most bills are referred to a committee, however many are by no means thought-about or are left pending in a committee, in line with the state’s handbook on the legislative process.

“Step No. 1 in advocacy is to lobby to get the bill scheduled for a hearing and not to overlook that important step,” mentioned state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who has served within the Texas Senate since 1987 and claims a record of passing essentially the most bills.

To get a invoice a listening to, Zaffirini mentioned individuals ought to work with the employees of the authors or sponsors of a invoice and the employees of the committee it was referred to.

Once a invoice has been reported out of a committee, it should be scheduled for debate on the ground of the chamber, amongst different members.

After debate on a invoice, nearly all of lawmakers in a chamber has to approve the invoice twice to ensure that it to cross. While the Senate normally takes each votes on the identical day, the House usually doesn’t.

After a invoice is handed within the chamber it originated in, it’s referred to the opposite chamber, the place the invoice should undergo the identical course of. And whether it is handed, the 2 chambers should agree on any adjustments they made to the laws earlier than it’s despatched to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

Further complicating this course of: Lawmakers should meet sure deadlines to behave on bills and transfer them ahead. This means drawn-out debates on bills or amendments is usually a strategic transfer to kill a invoice earlier than sure midnight deadlines.

“Amendments [are] really the way that you can get in under the hood of a piece of legislation, and really try to modify it for the better [or] try to modify it for the worst if you’re trying to defeat it [by] creat[ing] like a poison pill in the legislation,” mentioned Alex Birnel, advocacy director for MOVE Texas, a corporation that focuses on voting rights, local weather justice and felony authorized reform.

A poison tablet can be an modification that adjustments a invoice’s intent, makes it ineffective or much less palatable for lawmakers to cross.

Amendments can be used to revive bills which have failed to maneuver ahead if the bills deal with related points and the amendments are accepted by the invoice writer, Green mentioned. Lawmakers also can problem and derail bills if a rule wasn’t adopted by means of some extent of order — additionally known as a POO. The minority precedence typically makes use of this tactic to kill a invoice once they lack the votes.

Resolutions, equivalent to joint resolutions calling to place an modification to the Texas Constitution on the poll for voters, comply with barely completely different legislative processes. You can learn more particulars about resolutions and the lawmaking course of within the state’s handbook.

The state funds invoice is developed by means of a two-year course of that’s led by the Legislative Budget Board, which is co-chaired by the speaker and lieutenant governor, and contains enter from state businesses, the governor’s workplace and the comptroller. While lawmakers cross tons of of latest legal guidelines each legislative session, the funds invoice — which pays for state businesses, public training, well being care, roads and more — is the one piece of laws lawmakers must cross. You can learn more about that course of here.

Who are the ability gamers? 

The legislative session is run primarily by a handful of highly effective figures in Texas politics: the governor, the lieutenant governor, the House speaker and the chairs of the Legislature’s committees.

Only the governor can name a particular session, however their energy is in any other case reasonably restricted within the Texas Legislature.

The governor outlines emergency objects, or priorities. During the primary 60 calendar days of a legislative session, lawmakers can cross solely laws associated to the governor’s emergency objects.

The governor also can signal or veto bills, together with line objects within the state funds handed by lawmakers. Lawmakers can override a veto with two-thirds votes from the members current in every chamber, however they hardly ever do, Green mentioned.

“That’s where a lot of his power comes in,” she mentioned. “He has that ability to decide whether that bill actually becomes law or not.”

If a governor takes no motion on a invoice, it nonetheless turns into law. The governor might depart a invoice unsigned as a symbolic act or to distance themselves from the laws, mentioned Sherri Greenberg, a professor of observe on the LBJ School of Public Affairs and a former Democratic state consultant.

It’s the lieutenant governor, the second-highest statewide elected official within the state, who’s thought to be essentially the most highly effective individual within the Texas Legislature, Green mentioned, as a result of they oversee the Texas Senate. In addition to referring bills to committees, the lieutenant governor has large discretion over who to call to a committee and the deciding phrase if there’s a tie or procedural query.

Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has held the workplace since 2015, has additionally gained energy within the Senate by decreasing the edge of votes wanted to bypass a Senate custom and deliver a invoice to the ground for debate. Historically, the Senate has positioned a “blocker bill” on the prime of its each day agenda, stopping the Senate from passing every other bills until two-thirds of senators agreed to “suspend the regular order of business” and skip over the blocker invoice.

The custom lends the minority energy by requiring bipartisanship to advance a invoice, however Patrick has swayed senators to vote to lower that threshold throughout his tenure. Essentially, this implies Republicans within the Senate can advance a invoice with out the assist of a single Democrat.

The speaker of the House performs the same function because the lieutenant governor however should be elected by their colleagues. Still, the speaker within the Texas Legislature normally holds more energy than the speaker within the U.S. House of Representatives as a result of state representatives are inclined to comply with the speaker’s lead, mentioned Brendan Steinhauser, a political strategist who has completed legislative or political work since 2002 and works with conservative teams such because the Young Americans for Liberty.

“People realize how much power the speaker has in terms of their bills getting killed,” he mentioned.

Republican state Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont, who was elected as speaker of the House in 2021, is anticipated to be re-elected by his colleagues, in line with Greenberg and Capitol onlookers.

The chairs of some committees are additionally significantly influential. For instance, the House Calendars Committee, in addition to the Senate Administration, House Appropriation and the Senate Finance committees can play key roles in whether or not bills are heard on the ground of the chamber or are funded.

“So it’s a matter of not only lobbying the committee that is considering the bill and the members who will vote for the bill, but also the members of the finance committee and the members who will vote for the budget because funding is critical,” Zaffirini mentioned.

The State Affairs Committee in each chambers can also be highly effective as a result of it has broad jurisdiction to obtain bills on virtually any matter.

Historically, the speaker of the House has appointed committee chairs from each events, however some Republicans and conservative teams have lately pushed back against that practice.

What’s the tempo of the Texas Legislature?

The first three months of the legislative session are normally gradual. After lawmakers gavel in on Tuesday, new members can be sworn in, a speaker of the House can be elected and every chamber will undertake its guidelines.

Usually by late January, the speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor will identify lawmakers to committees, which is able to start holding hearings for bills, Green mentioned. And in early February, the governor normally outlines his emergency objects throughout his State of the State speech.

This is an effective time to make your voice heard by contacting your lawmakers’ places of work or collaborating in public testimony, in line with longtime advocates.

In April and May, the tempo quickens as lawmakers rush to fulfill deadlines. During this time, the work days on the Capitol get longer, and lawmakers may go by means of the weekend to barter and cross laws.

Here are some key dates for the upcoming session:

• Jan. 10 is the primary day of the legislative session.
• March 11 is the sixtieth day and the unrestricted invoice submitting deadline.
• May 29 is sine die or the final day of the legislative session.
• June 18 is the final day the governor can signal or veto bills.
• Aug. 27 is the day most bills will go into impact in the event that they didn’t cross with more than two-thirds of votes. Bills that had two-thirds assist can go into effect earlier.

How can I sustain with bills and conferences?

The Texas Legislature Online: Through the Legislature’s website, yow will discover the bills which were filed on this legislative session or in previous periods and see their progress. You can create a personal list of bills to easily view and set up email alerts for updates on laws. And you may get e mail alerts for when notices of a committee listening to are posted. You also can use the web site to seek out hyperlinks to broadcasts of flooring or committee conferences in every chamber and different assets, equivalent to a glossary of legislative terms.

The Bill Status Hotline: During the legislative session, you may name 877-824-7038 in Texas to get “up-to-the-minute” information a few invoice’s standing, the legislative course of, assist getting a duplicate of the invoice and contact information for a lawmaker’s workplace, in line with the Legislative Reference Library. But hotline employees can not interpret a invoice or switch your name to a lawmaker’s workplace. The Legislative Reference Library additionally has an FAQ on the Legislature and different assets, together with a each day assortment of news tales associated to the state Legislature.

The Texas Tribune: You also can sustain with vital news of the Legislature by means of the Texas Tribune’s protection. Here are a number of the methods you may comply with our work:

• Watch our livestream of the Texas House and Senate. We can be livestreaming each minute from the House and Senate chambers here. We may additionally typically stream committee hearings on pages for particular tales.
• Subscribe to our newsletters. For summaries of crucial Texas news from us and different news retailers, you may join The Brief, our free each day e-newsletter, or for The Briefly Weekly. You also can join breaking news alerts or weekly RSS newsletters compiling all our tales on subjects such because the Texas Legislature, education and health care.
• Join our texting line. We ship a textual content about as soon as every week on essentially the most important updates on the Texas Legislature, together with on how to take part. You also can ship us your questions in regards to the legislative course of or the subjects that matter essentially the most to you. Text “hello” to 512-967-6919 or enroll on-line here.
• Listen to our podcasts. The Brief podcast offers a fast, each day rundown of Texas news, and our reporters and editors talk about Texas politics on our weekly podcast, TribCast.

Can I actually assist result in change within the Legislature?

Even although most laws dies and one get together at the moment holds management of the Legislature, political strategists, advocates and lawmakers all say addressing points remains to be potential within the Legislature.

“The Legislature teaches you that strange things happen,” mentioned Birnel of MOVE Texas. “In part because of the volume of bills and the short amount of time they all have to make it through, a lot of legislation dies, even things that are priorities, so to speak, of the majority party, and good amendments make it through.”

For instance, Texans can now observe their mail-in ballots on-line because of a bill passed in 2021, even amid dissent among lawmakers on different voting laws, Birnel mentioned.

Often, passing laws requires dedication.

“Persistence is the name of the game,” Zaffirini said, pointing to the 2017 passage of legislation she championed that banned texting while driving in the state. While the House bill passed in 2017, Zaffirini first filed legislation on the policy in 2009. “Times change, people change, situations change. When I first filed my anti-texting bill, I couldn’t even get a hearing, and finally I passed it in the Senate.”

Once you cross a invoice, it could actually become simpler to cross different associated bills and create more change, mentioned Luke Metzger, the chief director of the advocacy group Environment Texas.

“It’s easy to get frustrated and then just cynical about the process,” he mentioned. “What’s kept me going for 20-plus years of working on this has just been working for that incremental progress because that makes a difference. Even small changes can have meaningful impacts on people’s lives.”

So how can I take part within the Legislature?

Contact your lawmakers: You don’t must be an skilled to fulfill or discuss with a legislator’s workplace. Everyday Texans also can share their considerations and private tales, which will be the best advocacy, Green mentioned.

“If you’ve got stories about those actual things that affect your daily life, talk to your legislator about that,” she mentioned. “They need to hear the stories; they need to understand what people back in their districts are facing.”

But it helps to be ready with information of the laws, together with its influence and potential prices, and in regards to the lawmaker you’re contacting, Zaffirini mentioned. For instance, don’t foyer a legislator to assist a invoice in the event that they’ve authored it or if the laws has already handed of their chamber, she mentioned.

The sooner you contact your lawmakers’ places of work, the more seemingly you’re capable of meet with somebody and construct relationships that may assist later within the course of. Meeting with the employees of a lawmaker will be simply as vital or more vital than assembly with a legislator.

“Staff is very important in the process because staff makes the recommendations regarding the bill,” Zaffirini mentioned. “So by working with a staff, [voters] prepare the staff to be persuasive with a member.”

You also can e mail lawmakers’ places of work, which usually embrace employees members devoted to studying by means of correspondence, Eichler mentioned.

Testify at a public listening to: You can register by means of kiosks on the Capitol or on-line whereas utilizing the Capitol Wi-Fi. In the Senate, you could have to fill out a card in individual throughout the listening to to testify. You can discover more tips about how to testify here.

It is more impactful to succinctly discuss your expertise than it’s to learn written testimony or simply cite info, Metzger mentioned. But you may as well submit written testimony or have another person testify in your behalf.

It can take time for laws to return up for dialogue in a committee listening to, particularly if a listening to is scheduled for after a chamber meets for flooring debate, so it helps to be ready to be on the Capitol for some time or to ask the employees of a invoice’s writer or a committee when the laws could possibly be heard.

“Planning is critical, and typically plan to spend the day and stay overnight if necessary,” Zaffirini mentioned. It also can assist to speak with employees if it’s worthwhile to depart by a sure time, she mentioned.

Join an advocacy group: If you discover a corporation that’s engaged on points that matter to you, they may help you navigate and keep engaged within the legislative course of, Birnel mentioned. For instance, Birnel mentioned MOVE Texas plans to deliver younger individuals to the Capitol for foyer days. Organizations also can share your insights and considerations once they work with lawmakers to craft or advocate for laws and amendments.

But it doesn’t take a well-funded group, Eichler mentioned.

“Maybe there’s a group of parents or a group of your neighbors that share the same common concerns, where you can all meet with the legislator together or send a letter together,” she mentioned.

Raise consciousness in your neighborhood: Even should you can’t make it to the Capitol, contacting your lawmaker or elevating consciousness in your neighborhood might additionally assist transfer the needle on a difficulty, Metzger mentioned.

“Often, what you do in the district is far more important than what happens in the building because the legislators ultimately respond to their constituents and have to represent the constituents,” he mentioned.

You also can write a letter to the editor of your native newspaper or discuss to the news media. And as of late, you may simply share your story on social media and tag lawmakers, Birnel mentioned.

Disclosure: AARP Texas, MOVE Texas and University of Texas at Austin – LBJ School of Public Affairs have been monetary supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Financial supporters play no function within the Tribune’s journalism. Find an entire list of them here.