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2021 Texas legislative session

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2021 Texas legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 12, 2021

Session end:    May 31, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Dan Patrick (R)

House Speaker
Dade Phelan (R)
Majority Leader
Senate: N/A[1]
House: N/A[1]
Minority Leader
Senate: N/A[1]
House: N/A[1]

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions

In 2021, the Texas State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 12 and adjourn on May 31.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won an 18-13 majority in the Senate and a 83-67 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, Texas was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The Texas State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, Texas was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the Texas state House and state Senate.
  • Texas was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Texas' governor was Republican Greg Abbott.

    • Leadership in 2021

    Texas State Senate

    Texas House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    Texas was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2021 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 also one of 28 state legislatures where neither 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 2021 legislative session.

    Texas State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 13
         Republican Party 18
    Total 31

    Texas House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 67
         Republican Party 83
    Total 150

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 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 in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in Texas after the 2020 census

    Texas' 38 United States representatives and 181 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

    Congressional districts
    Mid-decade redistricting in Texas ahead of the 2026 elections has concluded.

    President Donald Trump (R) in July 2025 urged Texas Republicans to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries to help retain the Republican U.S. House majority in the 2026 U.S. House elections.[2] Ahead of the redistricting effort, Republicans represented 25 of Texas' 38 congressional districts. Democrats represented twelve, and the 18th District seat was vacant following the death of Sylvester Turner (D) in March 2025.

    On August 20, 2025, the Texas House voted 88-52 along party lines to approve a bill proposing a new congressional map.[3] On August 23, 2025, the Texas Senate voted 18-11 along party lines to approve the new congressional district boundaries, sending it to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).[4] Abbott signed the new map into law on August 29, 2025.[5]

    Click here for more information about the congressional maps enacted in Texas after the 2020 census.

    Legislative districts
    Litigation over state legislative redistricting in Texas after the 2020 census is ongoing.

    In consolidated cases before the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, a group of Texas organizations and voters argued that the state's congressional and state legislative maps were unconstitutional and violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting Latino voting power. A trial began May 21, 2025.[6]

    Click here for more information about the state legislative maps enacted in Texas after the 2020 census.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in Texas after the 2020 census, click here.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Texas state government


    A 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 2021 legislative session, there were 55 standing committees' in Texas' state government, including one joint legislative committee, 18 state Senate committees, and 36 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committee

    Senate committees

    House committees

    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In 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:

    See also: Article 17 of the Texas Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Texas

    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.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    According 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.


    Noteworthy events

    May 30, 2021: Democratic representatives leave chamber, ending regular session consideration of Senate Bill 7

    See also: Noteworthy state legislative walkouts

    On May 30, 2021, all 67 members of the Democratic caucus left the chamber during consideration of Senate Bill 7, a package of voting-related legislation. Legislators left the chamber around 10:30 p.m., leaving the chamber without a quorum ahead of a midnight deadline for passing legislation for the session. The walkout came following a meeting between the Democratic caucus and Speaker Dade Phelan (R). "We weren't getting satisfactory answers about why the bill had gotten so much worse. Most of us walked away from that meeting understanding that this was our only option," state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D) said.[7]

    Following the closure of the regular session, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said he would call a special session to take up the legislation again and threatened to veto the part of the state budget that funds legislative salaries.[7] On June 21, Abbott issued his veto of the part of the state budget that funds legislative salaries.[8]

    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Texas.

    Texas Party Control: 1992-2025
    Three years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-three years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    Historical Senate control

    Between 1992 and 2020, 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 2020, expanded their majority to 18-13. The table below shows the partisan history of the Texas State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. 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: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 18 17 15 15 15 12 12 11 12 12 12 11 11 12 13
    Republicans 13 14 16 16 16 19 19 20 19 19 19 20 20 19 18

    The movement from an 18-13 Democratic majority in 1992 to a 18-13 Republican majority in 2020 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, 2018, and 2020 picking up one seat in each year.

    Historical House control

    Between 1992 and 2020, 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 2020, 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 2020. 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: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 91 89 82 79 78 62 63 69 74 51 55 52 55 67 67
    Republicans 58 61 68 71 72 88 87 81 76 99 95 98 95 83 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 2020.

    See also

    Elections Texas State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 There are no official majority or minority leaders in the two chambers of the Texas State Legislature.
    2. ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Trump tells Texas Republicans to redraw the state congressional map to help keep House majority," July 15, 2025
    3. ↑ New York Times, "Texas House Approves Redistricting Maps, Just as Trump Wanted," August 20, 2025
    4. ↑ Reuters, "Texas Senate approves redistricting bill, sending it to governor to sign," August 25, 2025
    5. ↑ X, "Greg Abbott on August 29, 2025," accessed August 29, 2025
    6. ↑ Democracy Docket, "Trump’s DOJ Withdraws Claims In Texas Redistricting Lawsuit," March 7, 2025
    7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chron, "'Leave the building': Texas walkout escalates voting battles," May 31, 2021
    8. ↑ Latin Post, "Gov. Greg Abbott Defunds Texas Legislature After Democrats Walkout to Block Election Reform Bill," June 21, 2021
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