Texas Legislative Processes
Commissioner Dianne Edmondson
Many Robson Ranch residents move here from states that have totally different legislative processes. Our 1876 State Constitution intentionally does not make it easy for the 150 State House members and 31 State Senators to pass new laws.
For instance, Texas is one of only seven states whose legislatures do not meet every year. Our legislators meet for 140 days in odd-numbered years, meaning our session normally adjourns around Memorial Day.
The only Constitutionally-mandated item is to pass a balanced budget. For the session’s first 60 days, only legislative items may be considered which have been declared priorities by the Governor, such as public education or property taxes. After that, bills on any topic can be considered. Some rules are provided in our State Constitution, but each legislative chamber may adopt additional rules by majority vote. These rules include requiring three public readings of any bill being considered on three separate days, with most debate occurring on the second reading.
There also is a built-in “competitive spirit” between the two chambers.
The House normally adheres to one day per reading, but the Senate routinely amends and approves a third reading on the same day as the second reading.
Bills go through the appropriate committees, which are assigned on the day of first reading. Senate bills make it to a full chamber vote in the order that they are passed out of committee. House bills pass from their assigned committee into the Calendars committee before making it to the full chamber for a vote. If a bill passes either chamber, it is sent to the other chamber, and if changes are made, it goes to a conference committee made up of five members from each chamber appointed by the presiding officers. At least three of the five members from each chamber must approve the final conference committee report. If the bill then passes both chambers, it is sent to the Governor who has three choices:
* Sign it
* Veto it (two-thirds majority needed to override)
* Allow it to become law without his signature
If the Governor neither signs nor vetoes a bill within 10 days (not counting Sundays), it becomes law. If a bill is sent to the Governor within 10 days of final adjournment, the Governor has until 20 days (including Sundays) after final adjournment to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without signature.
If their work is not completed by the Legislature’s last regular session day (sine die) adjournment, the Governor may call them back into a 30-day special session, as happened in May of this year. Only the Governor can call a special session, and that call will include very specific items, which are the only things the legislators may consider during the special session.
There is no limit to how many special sessions a Governor may call. In May, Governor Abbott announced “the first” special session, alluding perhaps to additional sessions to be called if the items in that first special session call were not accomplished.
Only two items were stated: “… cutting property taxes and cracking down on illegal human smuggling.”
At the time of this writing, no second special session has been called, but one is expected due to the lack of a compromise on property tax cut legislation.
This process was fully discussed recently in a conversation I had with our State Representative Dr. Lynn Stucky on a Zoom call. If you would like to hear that discussion, contact the HOA office and they can send you a link.
Commissioner Dianne Edmondson is a Robson Ranch resident. You may contact her by email at [email protected] or phone her at 972-434-3960. You can also stop by her office in the Southwest Courthouse, 6200 Canyon Falls Drive, Suite 900, in Flower Mound.