Texas Legislature Online (TLO)
(Bills: 1989-Present)
http://capitol.state.tx.us/
Legislative Reference Library of Texas
(Bills: 1885-2009)
http://lrl.state.tx.us/
Legislative Reports - View a list of bills that have been filed in the house or senate.
Bill Status - View the current status and legislative history for a bill.
Bill list Create a bill list and receive e-mail notification as the status changes on bills you chose to watch.
Mobile TLO For BlackBerry, perform the following configuration steps:
*For more information see How to Follow a Bill using TLO
The legislative process of the state of Texas (as other states) is similar to the federal process, below is a short summary to see a more comprehensive explanation go to The Legislative Process in Texas
1. Bill introduction: Bill is introduced into the Texas State House of Representatives or the Texas State Senate.
Documents Created: Introductory version of the Bill and Bill Analysis
2. Bill Remarks: If the legislator introducing the bill makes remarks during the introduction; they are recorded in the House or Senate Journal.
Document Created: Bill remarks in the House or Senate Journal
3. Assigned Congressional Committe: The bill is assigned to a congressional committee who holds hearings to collect information about the bill’s subject matter.
Document Created: Hearings taped from 1973-present, no transcripts available
Source: Senate Video Archives / House Video Archives
4. Committe Considerations: The committee considers reports and analysis pertaining to the bill and cast votes. The committee may amend or substitute the bill with another bill during the process.
Documents Created: Committee reports, Amendments, Bill Analysis, Witness List
5. Bill Recommendation: If the committee recommends the bill, it is sent back to the full House/Senate to be debated and voted on. The bill may be amended on the floor in order to make the bill more appealing to legislators.
Documents Created: Floor Debate, Bill Analysis, Amendments
6. House/Senate Votes: The House/Senate cast votes on the bill, votes are recorded in the House/Senate Journal. If the House/Senate passes the bill it is then sent to the other legislative chamber to be considered.
Documents Created: Votes recorded in the House/Senate Journal, Engrossed Bill (official copy of bill as passed by one chamber)
7. If the other legislative chamber passes an identical version of the bill: The bill is sent to the Texas Governor to be signed into law.
Document Created: Enrolled Bill
8. If the other legislative chamber passes the bill, but makes changes to the text of the bill in the process: Members from both chambers convene a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two versions. The conference committee produces a unified version of the bill and a report explaining the committee’s actions. The unified version of the bill is then sent to the Governor to be signed into law.
Documents Created: Conference Report, Bill
9. Governor's Decision: If the Governor signs the bill, the bill becomes law. If the governor vetoes the bill it will be returned to the legislature where it will have to receive 2/3 majority of both houses to override the veto. If the governor refuses to sign the bill it will become law after 10 days unless the legislature is within 10 days of adjournment and the governor would have 20 days to take action on the bill. After the bill becomes law, the entire text of the law is published in the General and Special Laws of the State of Texas (the session laws of the State of Texas).
Document Created: Session Laws published in the General and Special Laws of Texas
10. Texas Law: After the bill becomes law, the language of the law is incorporated into the Texas Codes and Revised Civil Statues. The print version of the Texas Codes and Revised Civil Statutes is commonly referred to as “Vernon’s Texas Codes and Revised Civil Statutes Annotated” or simply “Vernon’s.”
Document Created: Law incorporated in the Texas Codes and Revised Civil Statutes
Source: Texas Statutes
By Keyword:
By Broad Subject:
HB House Bill
SB Senate Bill
HCR House Concurrent Resolution
SCR Senate Concurrent Resolution
HJR House Joint Resolution
SJR Senate Joint Resolution
CSHB Committee Substitute House Bill
CSSB Committee Substitute Senate Bill
HMM House Memorial Motions
HCM House Congratulatory Motion
Journal of the House of Representatives of the state of Texas
Location: Gov Docs Texas (1st floor)
Call Number: L1801.6 J826
Senate Journal
Location: Gov Docs Texas (1st floor)
Call Number: L1803.6 J826
General and Special Laws of the State of Texas
Location: Law (3rd floor)
Call Number: KFT1225 .A23
Vernon's Texas Session Law Service
Location: Law (3rd floor)
Call Number: KFT1225 .V4
Vernon's Texas Statutes and Codes Annotated. General Index.
Location: Law (3rd floor)
Call Number: KFT1230.5 .V4 A32
| 500 W. University Avenue : El Paso, TX, 79968-0582 : (915) 747-5672 |