Texas Senate

Not to be confused with the two United States Senators from Texas.

Texas State Senate
Texas State Legislature

Type
Type	Upper house of the Texas Legislature
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 13, 2015
Leadership
President of the Senate	Dan Patrick (R) Since January 20, 2015
President Pro Tempore	Juan Hinojosa (D) Since January 13, 2015
Structure
Seats	31
Political groups	Governing party Republican (20) Opposition party Democratic (11)

Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article 3, Texas Constitution
Salary	$7,200/year + per diem
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	November 4, 2014 (15 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2016 (15 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place

State Senate Chamber Texas State Capitol Austin, Texas
Website
Texas State Senate

Another view of the Texas Senate (2013)

The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per constituency, based on the 2010 U.S. Census. There are no term limits, 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 ending 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. 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. The Republicans currently control the chamber, which is made up of 20 Republicans and 11 Democrats, as of January 13, 2015.

Leadership

The Lieutenant Governor of Texas serves as the President of the Senate. The Lieutenant Governor's duties include presiding over the Senate, 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 is arguably considered more powerful than the Governor of Texas, and is considered one of the most powerful lieutenant governorships in the United States.

Unlike other state legislatures, the Texas Senate does not include majority or minority leaders. Instead, the President Pro Tempore 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.

For the 82nd Legislative Session, which began in 2011, there were only two new, or freshman, senators, Brian Birdwell, a Republican from Granbury, and José R. Rodríguez, a Democrat from El Paso.

For the 83rd Legislative Session, which began in 2013, there were six new senators, including Sylvia Garcia, who succeeded the late senator Mario Gallego through a special election. The five other new senators were Charles Schwertner, a Republican from Georgetown, Ken Paxton, a Republican from McKinney, Kelly Hancock, a Republican from Fort Worth, Larry Taylor, a Republican from Friendswood, and Donna Campbell, a Republican from New Braunfels. For this term of the Legislature the President of the Senate is Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. The President Pro Tempore is Republican Craig Estes of District 30 (Wichita Falls). Senator John Whitmire, a Democrat from Houston, is the Dean of the Senate, meaning he is the most senior member, having served since 1987. Senator Chris Harris, a Republican from Arlington, is the most senior member of his party, and the fourth most-senior overall member.

New senators elected in 2014 are Bob Hall, Paul Bettencourt, Van Taylor, Don Huffines, and Konni Burton, all Republicans.

Leaders

Position	Name	Party	Residence	District
Lieutenant Governor/President of the Senate	Dan Patrick	Republican	Houston
President Pro Tempore	Juan Hinojosa	Democratic	McAllen	20

History

Quorum-busting

Further information: Texas Eleven, Rump Senate

There have been at least three cases of quorum-busting 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 the summer of 2003, who were following the example of the Texas house Killer Ds.^[1]

Committee Structure

The following represents the Senate committee structure for the 83rd Legislature.

Administration
Agriculture, Rural Affairs & Homeland Security
Business & Commerce
Criminal Justice
Economic Development
- Subcommittee on Public-Private Partnerships
Education
Finance
- Subcommittee on Fiscal Matters
Government Organization
Health & Human Services
Higher Education
Intergovernmental Relations
Jurisprudence
Natural Resources
Nominations
Open Government
State Affairs
Transportation
Veteran Affairs & Military Installations

In addition, the House and Senate operate the permanent joint committee known as the Legislative Budget Board (LBB).

Current composition

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
End of previous legislature	19	11	30	1

Begin 2013^[2]	19	11	30	1
March 3, 2013^[3]	19	12	31	0

Begin 2015	20	11	31	0
Latest voting share	7001645000000000000♠64.5%	7001355000000000000♠35.5%

List of members

District	Senator	Party	Residence	First elected	Next election	County(ies) represented
1	Kevin Eltife	Republican	Tyler	2004†	2016 (retiring)	Bowie, Camp, Cass, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River, Rusk, Smith, Titus, Wood, Upshur
2	Bob Hall	Republican	Edgewood in Van Zandt County	2014	2018	Dallas (part), Delta, Fannin, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, Rockwall, Van Zandt
3	Robert Nichols	Republican	Jacksonville	2006	2018	Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Hardin, Henderson, Houston, Jasper, Liberty, Montgomery (part), Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, Tyler
4	Brandon Creighton	Republican	The Woodlands	2014†	2016	Chambers, Galveston (part), Harris (part), Jefferson, Montgomery (part)
5	Charles Schwertner	Republican	Georgetown	2012	2018	Brazos, Freestone, Grimes, Leon, Limestone, Madison, Milam, Robertson, Walker, Williamson
6	Sylvia Garcia	Democratic	Houston	2013†	2016	Harris (part)
7	Paul Bettencourt	Republican	Houston	2014	2018	Harris (part)
8	Van Taylor	Republican	Plano	2014	2018	Collin (part), Dallas (part)
9	Kelly Hancock	Republican	Fort Worth	2012	2018	Dallas (part), Tarrant (part)
10	Konni Burton	Republican	Colleyville	2014	2018	Tarrant (part)
11	Larry Taylor	Republican	Friendswood	2012	2016	Brazoria (part), Galveston (part), Harris (part)
12	Jane Nelson	Republican	Flower Mound	1992	2016	Denton (part), Tarrant (part)
13	Rodney Ellis	Democratic	Houston	1990†	2016	Fort Bend (part), Harris (part)
14	Kirk Watson	Democratic	Austin	2006	2018	Bastrop, Travis (part)
15	John Whitmire	Democratic	Houston	1982	2018	Harris (part)
16	Don Huffines	Republican	Dallas	2014	2018	Dallas (part)
17	Joan Huffman	Republican	Southside Place	2008†	2018	Brazoria (part), Fort Bend (part), Harris (part)
18	Lois Kolkhorst	Republican	Katy	2014	2018	Aransas, Austin, Burleson, Calhoun, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend (part), Goliad, Gonzales, Harris (part), Jackson, Lee, Matagorda, Nueces (part), Re fugio, Victoria, Waller, Washington
19	Carlos I. Uresti	Democratic	San Antonio	2006	2016	Atascosa (part), Bexar (part), Brewster, Crockett, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Kinney, Maverick, Medina, Pecos, Real, Reeves, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, Zavala
20	Juan Hinojosa	Democratic	McAllen	2002	2016	Brooks, Hidalgo (part), Jim Wells, Nueces (part)
21	Judith Zaffirini	Democratic	Laredo	1986	2016	Atascosa (part), Bexar (part), Bee, Caldwell, Duval, Guadalupe (part), Live Oak, Frio, Jim Hogg, Karnes, La Salle, McMullen, San Patricio, Starr, Travis (part), Uvalde, Webb, Wilson, Zapata
22	Brian Birdwell	Republican	Granbury	2010†	2016	Bosque, Ellis, Falls, Hill, Hood (part), Frio, Johnson, McLennan, Navarro, Somervell, Tarrant (part)
23	Royce West	Democratic	Dallas	1992	2018	Dallas (part)
24	Troy Fraser	Republican	Horseshoe Bay	1996	2016 (retiring)	Bandera, Bell, Blanco, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Comanche, Coryell, Gillespie, Hamilton, Kerr, Lampasas, Llano, Mills, San Saba, Taylor (part), Travis(part)
25	Donna Campbell	Republican	New Braunfels	2012	2018	Bexar (part), Travis (part), Comal, Hays, Kendall
26	Jose Menendez	Democratic	San Antonio	2015†	2016	Bexar (part)
27	Eddie Lucio, Jr.	Democratic	Brownsville	1990	2016	Cameron, Hidalgo (part), Kenedy, Kleberg, Willacy
28	Charles Perry	Republican	Lubbock	2014†	2016	Baylor, Borden, Childress, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Cottle, Crane, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Eastland, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Garza, Hale, Hardeman, Haskell, Hockley, Irion, Jones, Kent, Kimble, King, Knox, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Mason, McColluch, Menard, Mitchell, Montague, Motley, Nolan, Reagan, Runnels, Sleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Terry, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Upton, Ward, Wheeler, Wilbarger, Young
29	José R. Rodríguez	Democratic	El Paso	2010	2016	Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Presidio
30	Craig Estes	Republican	Wichita Falls	2000	2018	Archer, Clay, Collin (part), Cooke, Denton (part), Erath, Grayson, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Wichita, Wise, Young
31	Kel Seliger	Republican	Amarillo	2004†	2018	Andrews, Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Cochran, Collingsworth, Coke, Coleman, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley, Ector, Gaines, Glasscock, Gray, Hall, Hartley, Hemphill, Hansford, Howard, Hutchinson, Jones, Lipscomb, Loving, Lynn, Martin, Midland, Moore, Motley, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, Wheeler, Winkler, Yoakum

†Elected in a special election

Notable past members

Edward Clark, Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1859–1861), Governor of Texas (1861).
Wayne Connally, Senator from Wilson County (1967–1973), brother of Governor John Connally.
Lloyd Doggett, Texas Supreme Court Justice (1989–1994), U.S. House of Representatives (1995–present).
Robert L. Duncan, State Senator from Lubbock, 1996-2014; Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System since 2014
Chet Edwards, U.S. House of Representatives (1991–2011).
James W. Flanagan, U.S. Senate (1870–1875).
Glenn Hegar, current Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (2015-present).
John Ireland, Texas Supreme Court Justice (1876), Governor of Texas (1883–1887).
Eddie Bernice Johnson, 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 Lieutenant Governor of Texas (2015-present).
Jerry E. Patterson, Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office (2003-2015).
Ken Paxton, current Attorney General of Texas (2015-present).
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Governor of Texas, (1887–1891).
Joseph D. Sayers, Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1879–1881), U.S. House of Representatives (1885–1899), Governor of Texas (1899–1903).
Allan Shivers, Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1946–1949), Governor of Texas (1949–1957).
Preston Smith, Governor of Texas (1969–1973).
Frank Tejeda, U.S. House of Representatives (1993–1997).
James W. Throckmorton, Governor of Texas (1866–1867), U.S. House of Representatives (1875–1879, 1883–1887).
Carlos Truan, Senator from Corpus Christi from 1977 to 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, Texas House and Texas Senate (1893–1935), Texas Secretary of State (1913).
Louis Wigfall, U.S. Senate (1859–1861).
Charles Wilson, U.S. House of Representatives (1973–1997).

References

↑ 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
↑ Democrat Mario Gallegos, Jr. (District 6) died October 16 and was reelected posthumously.
↑ Democrat Sylvia Garcia elected to succeed Gallegos

External links

Official website

Members of the Texas Senate

83rd Texas Legislature (2013) President of the Senate: David Dewhurst (R) President Pro Tempore: Steve Ogden (R)

Kevin Eltife (R) Bob Hall (succeeding Bob Deuell) (R) Robert Nichols (R) Brandon Creighton (R) Charles Schwertner (R) Sylvia Garcia (D) Paul Bettencourt (succeeding Dan Patrick) (R) Van Taylor (succeeding Ken Paxton) (R) Kelly Hancock (R) Konni Burton (R) (succeeding Wendy Davis (D) Larry Taylor (R) Jane Nelson (R) Rodney Ellis (D) Kirk Watson (D) John Whitmire (D) Don Huffines (succeeding John Carona) (R) Joan Huffman (R) Lois Kolkhorst (succeeding Glenn Hegar) (R) Carlos Uresti (D) Juan Hinojosa (D) Judith Zaffirini (D) Brian Birdwell (R) Royce West (D) Troy Fraser (R) Donna Campbell (R) Jose Menendez (succeeding Leticia Van de Putte) (D) Eddie Lucio Jr. (D) Charles Perry (R) José R. Rodríguez (D) Craig Estes (R) Kel Seliger (R)

Republican (20) Democratic (11) Texas Legislature Texas House of Representatives Texas State Senate

Legislatures of the United States

United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate

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Other legislatures	District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands

State of Texas

Austin (capital)

Topics	Architecture Climate Cuisine Geography Government Healthcare History Languages Law Literature National Historic Landmarks Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks National Register of Historic Places Sites Sports Texans Transportation Symbols Visitor attractions

Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gambling Politics

Regions	Ark‑La‑Tex Big Bend Blackland Prairies Brazos Valley Central Texas Coastal Bend Concho Valley Cross Timbers Deep East Texas East Texas Edwards Plateau Golden Triangle Hill Country Llano Estacado Northeast Texas North Texas Osage Plains Panhandle Permian Basin Piney Woods Rio Grande Valley Southeast Texas South Plains South Texas Texoma Trans-Pecos West Texas

Metropolitan areas	Abilene Amarillo Austin–Round Rock Beaumont–Port Arthur Brownsville–Harlingen College Station–Bryan Corpus Christi Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington El Paso Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land Killeen–Temple Laredo Longview Lubbock McAllen–Edinburg–Mission Midland Odessa San Angelo San Antonio–New Braunfels Sherman–Denison Texarkana Tyler Victoria Waco Wichita Falls

Counties	See: List of counties in Texas

Texas state agencies

Executive	Dept. of Agriculture Alcoholic Beverage Commission Animal Health Commission Dept. of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services Attorney General School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Brazos River Authority State Cemetery Comptroller of Public Accounts School for the Deaf Board of Dental Examiners Commission on Environmental Quality Education Agency Employees Retirement System Ethics Commission Facilities Commission Dept. of Family and Protective Services Film Commission Forest Service Office of the Governor Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Health and Human Services Commission Dept. of State Health Services Higher Education Coordinating Board Historical Commission Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs Dept. of Information Resources Dept. of Insurance Commission on Jail Standards General Land Office Library and Archives Commission Dept. of Licensing and Regulation Lottery Commission Lower Colorado River Authority Dept. of Motor Vehicles Dept. of Parks and Wildlife Preservation Board Dept. of Public Safety Railroad Commission Real Estate Commission Residential Construction Commission Soil and Water Conservation Board State Fair Teacher Retirement System Texas A&M University System Dept. of Transportation Trinity River Authority University of Houston System University of North Texas System University of Texas System Texas State University System Texas Tech University System Workforce Commission Juvenile Justice Department

Legislative	House of Representatives Senate

Judicial	Courts of Appeals Court of Criminal Appeals Dept. of Criminal Justice State Bar Supreme Court

Coordinates: 30°16′28″N 97°44′24″W / 30.274537°N 97.739906°W / 30.274537; -97.739906

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 145405403 LCCN: n79100770 GND: 131210-8

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