| Texas State Senate | |
|---|---|
| Texas State Legislature | |
| Type | |
| Type | Upper house |
| Term limits | None |
| New session started | January 11, 2011 |
| Leadership | |
| President of the Senate | David Dewhurst, (R) since January 21, 2003 |
| President Pro Tempore | Mike Jackson, (R) since May 30, 2011 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 31 |
| Political groups | Republican Party (19) Democratic Party (12) |
| Length of term | 4 years |
| Authority | Article 3, Texas Constitution |
| Salary | $7,200/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
| Last election | November 2, 2010 (16 seats) |
| Next election | November 6, 2012 (15 seats) |
| Redistricting | Legislative Control |
| Meeting place | |
| State Senate Chamber Texas State Capitol Austin, Texas |
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| Website | |
| Texas State Senate | |
The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing 31 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 672,000 per constituency. Texas Senate elections are held every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November on the same date as gubernatorial elections and do not coincide with the presidential elections. There are no term limits, and each term is four years long. The Senate meets at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. The Republicans currently control the chamber, which is made up of 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats.
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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 resides 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. President Pro Tempores are usually the most senior members of the Senate. The President Pro Tempore preside when the lieutenant governor is not present or when the legislature is not in regular session.
The President of the Senate is Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. The President Pro Tempore is Republican Mike Jackson of District 11 (Bryan).
Senator John Whitmire, a Democrat from Houston, is the Dean of the Senate, meaning he is the most senior member, having served for 26 years. Senator Chris Harris, a Republican from Arlington, is the most senior member of his party, and the fourth overall member in terms of seniority.
For the 82nd Legislative Session there are only two new, or freshmen, senators, Brian Birdwell, a Republican from Granbury, and José R. Rodríguez, a Democrat from El Paso.
| Position | Name | Party | Residence | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant Governor/President of the Senate | David Dewhurst | Republican | Austin | |
| President Pro Tempore | Mike Jackson | Republican | Bryan | 5 |
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]
The following represents the Senate committee structure for the 81st Legislature.
In addition, the House and Senate operate the permanent joint committee known as the Legislative Budget Board (LBB).
| Affiliation | Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Democratic | Vacant | ||
| End of previous legislature | 20 | 11 | 31 | 0 |
| Begin | 19 | 12 | 31 | 0 |
| March 8, 2010 | 18 | 30 | 1 | |
| July 2, 2010 | 19 | 31 | 0 | |
| Latest voting share | 61.3% | 38.7% | ||
The Texas Senate started at 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats until Kip Averitt resigned, creating a vacancy that was filled by Republican Brian Birdwell of Granbury, who took office officially on July 2, 2010. Birdwell's win restores the Texas Senate to its original composition at the start of the 81st legislature.
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