Katana VentraIP

Texas House of Representatives

The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no term limits. The House meets at the State Capitol in Austin.

Texas House of Representatives

None

January 10, 2023

Dade Phelan (R)
since January 12, 2021
Charlie Geren (R)
since February 8, 2023
Tom Oliverson (R)
since April 3, 2024
Trey Martinez Fischer (D)
since January 10, 2023

150

2 years

Article 3, Texas Constitution

$7,200/year + per diem

November 8, 2022
(150 seats)

November 5, 2024
(150 seats)

Legislative control

first Mexican-American to represent his region in the US House and the second Mexican-American from Texas to be elected to Congress (1965–1997).[6]

Eligio (Kika) De La Garza, II

Federal Highway Administrator (1981–1987)

Ray Barnhart

first blind woman elected to a state legislature

Anita Lee Blair

U.S. Representative (1953–1995)

Jack Brooks

Governor of Texas (1973–1979)

Dolph Briscoe

Midland County oilman and representative from 1965 to 1969; only Republican member in 1965 legislative session

Frank Kell Cahoon

U.S. Representative (2013–present)

Joaquin Castro

U.S. Representative (2023–present)

Jasmine Crockett

U.S. Representative (2005–present)

Henry Cuellar

U.S. Representative (1985–2006) and House Majority Leader (2003–2005)

Tom DeLay

U.S. Representative (2022–present)

Jake Ellzey

U.S. Representative (2021–present)

Pat Fallon

U.S. Representative (1903–1933), Speaker of the House (1931–1933), and Vice President of the United States (1933–1941)

John Nance Garner

U.S. Representative (2019–present)

Lance Gooden

Dallas County representative from 1963 to 1965; state senator (1967–1995)

O.H. "Ike" Harris

United States district court judge

Sarah T. Hughes

former executive vice president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas

Robert Dean Hunter

House of Representatives (1997–2007), survived the Luby's shooting, went on to champion individual gun ownership and carry rights.

Suzanna Hupp

U.S. Senator (1993–2013)

Kay Bailey Hutchison

Ray Hutchison, husband of Kay Bailey Hutchison

first Black woman ever elected to public office from Dallas, first woman in Texas history to lead a major Texas House committee (the Labor Committee), and the first registered nurse elected to Congress.

Eddie Bernice Johnson

father of President Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)

Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr.

representative from Rockdale known for his support of public education

Dan Kubiak

U.S. Representative (1979–1989), died in a plane crash.

Mickey Leland

(1826–1911) Born in Bremen. In 1852, built the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg, which now houses the National Museum of the Pacific War. Grandfather of United States Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Elected to the Texas Legislature 1890.

Charles Henry Nimitz

longest serving Governor of Texas, (2000–2015) and former U.S. Secretary of Energy (2017–2019).

Rick Perry

(1925–1941) Lawyer, legislator, civic leader, and philanthropist. Veteran of both World War I and World War II.

Colonel Alfred P.C. Petsch

U.S. Representative (1913–1961) and longest served Speaker of the House (1940–1947, 1949–1953, 1955–1961)

Sam Rayburn

Governor of Texas (1941–1947)

Coke R. Stevenson

U.S. Representative (2013–present)

Marc Veasey

U.S. Representative (2013–present)

Randy Weber

attorney for "Jane Roe" for the 1973 Roe v. Wade case in the U.S. Supreme Court

Sarah Weddington

coauthored bill to establish the Pasteur Institute of Texas, authored resolution for humane treatment of state convicts, coauthored the indeterminate sentence and parole law. Also served as Texas Secretary of State

Ferdinand C. Weinert

U.S. Representative (1973–1996), subject of the book and film Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson

Officials[edit]

Speaker of the House[edit]

The Speaker of the House of Representatives has duties as a presiding officer as well as administrative duties. As a presiding officer, the Speaker must enforce, apply, and interpret the rules of the House, call House members to order, lay business in order before the House and receive propositions made by members, refer proposed legislation to a committee, preserve order and decorum, recognize people in the gallery, state and hold votes on questions, vote as a member of the House, decide on all questions to order, appoint the Speaker Pro Tempore and Temporary Chair, adjourn the House in the event of an emergency, postpone reconvening in the event of an emergency, and sign all bills, joint resolutions, and concurrent resolutions. The administrative duties of the Speaker include having control over the Hall of the House, appointing chair, vice-chair, and members to each standing committee, appointing all conference committees, and directing committees to make interim studies.[7]

Chief Clerk[edit]

The Chief Clerk is the head of the Chief Clerk's Office which maintains a record of all authors who sign legislation, maintains and distributes membership information to current house members, and forwards copies of legislation to house committee chairs.[8] The Chief Clerk is the primary custodian of all legal documents within House. Additional duties include keeping a record of all progress on a document, attesting all warrants, writs, and subpoenas, receiving and filing all documents received by the house, and maintaining the electronic information and calendar for documents. When there is a considerable update of the electronic source website, the Chief Clerk is also responsible for noticing House members via email.[7]

Agriculture and Livestock (9)

[note 2]

Business & Industry (9)

Calendars (11)

Community Safety (select)

Corrections (9)

County Affairs (9)

Criminal Jurisprudence (9)

Culture, Recreation & Tourism (9)

Defense & Veterans' Affairs (9)

Elections (9)

Energy Resources (11)

Environmental Regulation (9)

General Investigating (5)

Health Care Reform (select)

Higher Education (11)

Homeland Security & Public Safety (9)

House Administration (11)

Human Services (9)

Insurance (9)

International Relations & Economic Development (9)

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence (9)

Juvenile Justice & Family Issues (9)

Land & Resource Management (9)

Licensing & Administrative Procedures (11)

Local & Consent Calendars (11)

Natural Resources (11)

Pensions, Investments & Financial Services (9)

Public Education (13)

Public Health (11)

Redistricting (15)

Resolutions Calendars (11)

State Affairs (13)

Transportation (13)

Urban Affairs (9)

Ways & Means (11)

Youth Health & Safety (select)

The committee structure below is valid for the 88th Legislature (numbers in parentheses are the number of committee members; under House rules 1/2 of each committee's membership is determined by seniority and the remaining 1/2 by the Speaker of the House, excluding Procedural Committees[note 1] the membership of which are wholly chosen by the Speaker).[9]


In addition to these committees, there are also six joint committees composed of members of both the State House and Senate:

Texas Senate

Official website

– Texas Department of Transportation

District map