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2019 Texas legislative session
| Texas State Legislature | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type: | State legislature |
| Term limits: | None |
| Session start: | January 8, 2019 |
| Session end: | May 27, 2019 |
| Website: | Official Legislature Page |
| Leadership | |
| Senate President: | Dan Patrick (R) |
| House Speaker: | Dennis Bonnen (R) |
| Structure | |
| Members: | 31 (Senate), 150 (House) |
| Length of term: | 4 years (Senate), 2 years (House) |
| Authority: | Art 3, Texas Constitution |
| Salary: | $7,200/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
| Last election: | November 6, 2018 Senate House |
| Next election: | November 3, 2020 Senate House |
| Redistricting: | Texas Legislature has control |
Texas convened its legislative session on January 8, 2019, and legislators remained in session until May 27, 2019. No party had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 19-12 majority in the Senate and an 83-67 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.
Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.
Partisan control in 2019
- See also: State government trifectas
Texas was one of 22 Republican trifectas at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Texas was one of 28 state legislatures where no party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Texas State Legislature in the 2019 legislative session.
Texas State Senate
| Party | As of January 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 12 | |
| Republican Party | 19 | |
| Total | 31 | |
Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the Texas State Senate shifted in favor of the Republican Party. As a result of the 1992 elections, Democrats held an 18-13 majority. Republicans flipped the chamber in 1996 and, by 2018, expanded their majority to 19-12. The table below shows the partisan history of the Texas State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Texas State Senate election results: 1992-2018
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 18 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| Republicans | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 19 |
The movement from an 18-13 Democratic majority in 1992 to a 19-12 Republican majority in 2018 was gradual. Half of the elections between 1992 and 2018 saw no change to the partisan balance of the state Senate. In years where there was a shift in balance, those shifts were minimal. Republicans made their largest gains—three seats—in the 2002 elections. The only years Democrats made gains were 2008 and 2018, picking up one seat in each year.
Texas House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2019 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 67 | |
| Republican Party | 83 | |
| Total | 150 | |
Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the Texas House of Representatives shifted in favor of the Republican Party. As a result of the 1992 elections, Democrats held a 91-58 majority. Republicans flipped the chamber in 2002 and, by 2018, expanded their majority to 83-67. The table below shows the partisan history of the Texas House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Texas House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 91 | 89 | 82 | 79 | 78 | 62 | 63 | 69 | 74 | 51 | 55 | 52 | 55 | 67 |
| Republicans | 58 | 61 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 76 | 99 | 95 | 98 | 95 | 83 |
Republicans gained control of the state House in 2002 after gaining 16 seats. The partisan balance of the chamber moved 14 seats in favor of Republicans in the four elections leading up to the 2002 elections. Between 2002 and 2008, Democrats were able to take back 12 seats. After 2008, the chamber was nearly split at a 76-74 Republican majority. Republicans' largest gains would occur as a result of the 2010 elections, when they picked up 23 seats. Democrats gained 16 seats between 2010 and 2018.
Leadership in 2019
Texas State Senate
Texas House of Representatives
Regular sessionThe following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2019 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria yet in 2019. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Standing legislative committeesA standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter. At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, there were 55 standing committees in Texas' state government, including 1 joint committee, 18 state Senate committees, and 36 state House committees. Senate committees
House committees
Legislatively referred constitutional amendmentsIn every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures. The methods by which the Texas Constitution can be amended: The Texas Constitution provides one mechanism for amending the state's constitution—legislatively referred constitutional amendments. Texas requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments. LegislatureAccording to Article 17, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Texas State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 100 votes in the Texas House of Representatives and 21 votes in the Texas State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Historical partisan controlTexas Party Control: 1992-2025
See also
External linksFootnotes
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