Texas House of Representatives

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Texas House of Representatives
Texas State Legislature
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 10, 2017
Leadership
Joe Straus (R)
since January 13, 2009
Speaker pro Tempore
Structure
Seats150
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (95)

Minority

Length of term
2 years
AuthorityArticle 3, Texas Constitution
Salary$7,200/year + per diem
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
November 8, 2016
(150 seats)
Next election
November 6, 2018
(150 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative control
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber
Texas State Capitol
Austin, Texas
Website
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 a term of 2 years. As of the 2010 Census, each member represents an average of 167,637 people. There are no term limits, with the most senior member, Tom Craddick, having been elected in 1968.

The House meets at the State Capitol in Austin.

Leadership

Position Name Party Residence District
Speaker of the House Joe Straus Republican San Antonio 121
Speaker Pro Tempore Dennis Bonnen Republican Angleton 25
Republican Caucus Chair Tan Parker Republican Flower Mound 63
Democratic Caucus Chair Chris Turner Democratic Grand Prairie 101

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer and highest-ranking member of the House. The Speaker's duties include maintaining order within the House, recognizing members during debate, ruling on procedural matters, appointing members to the various committees and sending bills for committee review. The Speaker pro tempore is primarily a ceremonial position, but does, by long-standing tradition, preside over the House during its consideration of local and consent bills.

Unlike other state legislatures, the House rules do not formally recognize majority or minority leaders. The unofficial leaders are the Republican Caucus Chairman and the Democratic House Leader, both of whom are elected by their respective caucuses.

Composition

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color" | style="background-color:Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color" | style="background-color:Template:Independent Party (United States)/meta/color" |
Republican Democrat Ind Vacant
End 2010 75 73 0 148 2
Begin 2011 101 49 0 150 0
End 2012 48 149 1
Begin 2013 95 55 0 150 0
End 2014
Begin 2015 98 52 0 150 0
End 2016 99 50 1
Begin 2017 95 55 0 150 0
Latest voting share 63.3% 36.7%

List of members

District Representative Party Residence First elected County(ies) represented
1 Gary VanDeaver R New Boston 2014 Bowie, Franklin, Lamar, Red River
2 Dan Flynn R Canton 2003 Hopkins, Hunt, Van Zandt
3 Cecil Bell Jr. R Magnolia 2012 Montgomery (part), Waller
4 Lance Gooden R Kaufman 2016 Henderson, Kaufman
5 Cole Hefner R Mineola 2016 Camp, Morris, Rains, Smith, Titus, Wood
6 Matt Schaefer R Tyler 2012 Smith (part)
7 Jay Dean R Longview 2016 Gregg, Upshur
8 Byron Cook R Corsicana 2002 Anderson, Freestone, Hill, Navarro
9 Chris Paddie R Marshall 2012 Cass, Harrison, Marion, Panola, Sabine, Shelby
10 John Wray R Waxahachie 2014 Ellis, Henderson (part)
11 Travis Clardy R Jacksonville 2012 Cherokee, Nacogdoches, Rusk
12 Kyle Kacal R Hillister 2012 Brazos (part), Falls, Limestone, McLennan, Robertson
13 Leighton Schubert R Brenham 2014 Austin, Burleson, Colorado, Fayette, Grimes, Lavaca, Washington
14 John Raney R Bryan 2010 Brazos (part)
15 Mark Keough R The Woodlands 2012 Montgomery
16 Will Metcalf R Conroe 2014
17 John Cyrier R Lockhart 2014 Bastrop, Caldwell, Gonzales, Karnes, Lee
18 Ernest Bailes R Dayton 2016 Liberty, San Jacinto, Walker
19 James White R Woodville 2010 Hardin, Jasper, Newton, Polk, Tyler
20 Terry Wilson R Georgetown 2016 Burnet, Milam, Williamson (part)
21 Dade Phelan R Beaumont 2014 Jefferson (part), Orange
22 Joe Deshotel D Port Arthur 1998 Jefferson (part)
23 Wayne Faircloth R Galveston 2014 Chambers, Galveston (part)
24 Greg Bonnen R Friendswood 2012 Galveston (part)
25 Dennis Bonnen R Angleton 1996 Brazoria (part), Matagorda
26 Rick Miller R Sugar Land 2012 Fort Bend (part)
27 Ron Reynolds D Missouri City 2010
28 John M. Zerwas R Katy 2006
29 Ed Thompson R Pearland 2012 Brazoria (part)
30 Geanie Morrison R Victoria 1998 Aransas, Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Refugio
31 Ryan Guillen D Rio Grande City 2002 Atascosa, Brooks, Duval, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, La Sallae, Live Oak, McMullen, Starr, Willacy
32 Todd Ames Hunter R Portland 2008
(1989-1997)
Nueces (part)
33 Justin Holland R 2016 Collin (part), Rockwall
34 Abel Herrero D Corpus Christi 2012 Nueces (part)
35 Oscar Longoria D Beeville 2012 Cameron (part) Hidalgo (part)
36 Sergio Muñoz, Jr. D Mission 2010 Hidalgo
37 Rene Oliveira D Brownsville 1981† Cameron (part)
38 Eddie Lucio III D San Benito 2006
39 Armando Martinez D Weslaco 2004 Hidalgo (part)
40 Terry Canales D Edinburg 2012
41 Robert Guerra D McAllen 2012†
42 Richard Raymond D Laredo 2001†
(1993-1999)
Webb (part)
43 J. M. Lozano R[1] Kingsville 2010 Bee, Jim Wells, Kleberg, San Patricio
44 John Kuempel R Seguin 2010† Guadalupe, Wilson
45 Jason Isaac R San Marcos 2010 Blanco, Hays
46 Dawnna Dukes D Austin 1994 Travis (part)
47 Paul D. Workman R Austin 2010
48 Donna Howard D Austin 2006†
49 Gina Hinojosa D Austin 2016
50 Celia Israel D Austin 2014†
51 Eddie Rodriguez D Austin 2002
52 Larry Gonzales R Round Rock 2010 Williamson (part)
53 Andrew Murr R Kimble County 2014 Bandera, Crockett, Edwards, Kerr, Kimble, Llano, Mason, Medina, Menard, Real, Schleicher, Sutton
54 Scott Cosper R Killeen 2016 Bell (part), Lampasas
55 Hugh Shine R Belton 2016 Bell (part)
56 Charles Anderson R Waco 2004 McLennan (part)
57 Trent Ashby R Lufkin 2012 Angelina, Houston, Leon, Madison, San Augustine, Trinity
58 DeWayne Burns R Cleburne 2014 Bosque, Johnson
59 J.D. Sheffield R Gatesville 2012 Comanche, Coryell, Erath, Hamilton, McCulloch, Mills, San Saba, and Somervell
60 Mike Lang R Eastland 2016 Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Eastland, Hood, Palo Pinto, Shackelford, Stephens
61 Phil King R Weatherford 1998 Parker, Wise
62 Larry Phillips R Sherman 2002 Delta, Grayson, Fannin
63 Tan Parker R Flower Mound 2006 Denton (part)
64 Lynn Stucky R Lake Dallas 2016
65 Ron Simmons R Carrollton 2012 Denton (part)
66 Matt Shaheen R Plano 2014 Collin (part)
67 Jeff Leach R Plano 2012
68 Drew Springer, Jr. R Vernon 2012 Childress, Collingsworth, Cooke, Cottle, Crosby, Dickens, Fisher, Floyd, Garza, Hall, Hardeman, Haskell,
Jack, Kent, King, Montague, Motley, Wheeler, Wilbarger, Young
69 James Frank R Wichita Falls 2012 Archer, Baylor, Clay, Foard, Knox, Wichita
70 Scott Sanford R McKinney 2012 Collin (part)
71 Stan Lambert R Abilene 2016 Jones, Nolan, Taylor
72 Drew Darby R San Angelo 2006 Coke, Concho, Howard, Irion, Reagan, Runnels, Sterling, Tom Green,
73 Kyle Biedermann R Fredericksburg 2016 Comal, Gillespie, Kendall
74 Poncho Nevarez D Eagle Pass 2012 Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kinney, Loving, Maverick, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Terrell, Val Verde
75 Mary González D El Paso 2012 El Paso (part)
76 Cesar Blanco D El Paso 2014
77 Evelina Ortega D El Paso 2016
78 Joe Moody D El Paso 2012
79 Joe Pickett D El Paso 1994
80 Tracy King D Batesville 2005
(1995-2003)
Dimmit, Frio, Webb (part), Uvalde, Zapata, Zavala
81 Brooks Landgraf R Odessa 2014 Andrews, Ector, Ward, Winkler
82 Tom Craddick R Midland 1968 Crane, Dawson, Martin, Midland, Upton
83 Dustin Burrows R Lubbock 2014 Borden, Gaines, Lubbock (part), Lynn, Mitchell, Scurry, Terry
84 John Frullo R Lubbock 2010† Lubbock (part)
85 Phil Stephenson R Wharton 2012 Fort Bend (part), Jackson, Wharton
86 John T. Smithee R Amarillo 1984 Dallam, Deaf Smith, Hartley, Oldham, Parmer, Randall
87 Four Price R Amarillo 2010 Carson, Hutchinson, Moore, Potter, Sherman
88 Ken King R Pampa 2012 Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Castro, Cochran, Donley, Gray, Hale, Hansford, Hemphill, Hockley,
Lamb, Lipscomb, Ochiltree, Roberts, Swisher, Yoakum
89 Jodie Anne Laubenberg R Parker 2002 Collin (part)
90 Ramon Romero Jr. D Fort Worth 2014 Tarrant (part)
91 Stephanie Klick R Fort Worth 2012
92 Jonathan Stickland R Bedford 2012
93 Matt Krause R Arlington 2012
94 Tony Tinderholt R Arlington 2006
95 Nicole Collier D Fort Worth 2012
96 Bill Zedler R Arlington 2010
97 Craig Goldman R Fort Worth 2012
98 Giovanni Capriglione R Southlake 2012
99 Charlie Geren R River Oaks 2000
100 Eric Johnson D Dallas 2010 Dallas (part)
101 Chris Turner D Grand Prairie 2012 Tarrant (part)
102 Linda Koop R Dallas 2014 Dallas (part)
103 Rafael Anchia D Dallas 2004
104 Roberto R. Alonzo D Dallas 1992
105 Rodney Anderson R Grand Prairie 2014
106 Pat Fallon R Grand Prairie 2012 Denton (part)
107 Victoria Neave D Dallas 2016 Dallas (part)
108 Morgan Meyer R Dallas 2014
109 Helen Giddings D De Soto 1992
110 Toni Rose D Dallas 2012
111 Yvonne Davis D Dallas 1992
112 Angie Chen Button R Richardson 2008
113 Cindy Burkett R Garland 2010
114 Jason Villalba R Dallas 2012
115 Matt Rinaldi R Irving 2014
116 Diana Arevalo D San Antonio 2016 Bexar (part)
117 Philip Cortez D San Antonio 2016
118 Tomas Uresti D San Antonio 2016
119 Roland Gutierrez D San Antonio 2008†
120 Barbara Gervin-Hawkins D San Antonio 2016
121 Joe Straus R San Antonio 2005†
122 Lyle Larson R San Antonio 2010
123 Diego Bernal D San Antonio 2014†
124 Ina Minjarez[2] D San Antonio 2015†
125 Justin Rodriguez D San Antonio 2012
126 Kevin Roberts R Spring 2016 Harris (part)
127 Dan Huberty R Kingwood 2010
128 Briscoe Cain R Baytown 2016
129 Dennis Paul R Houston 2014
130 Tom Oliverson R Houston 2016
131 Alma Allen D Houston 2004
132 Mike Schofield R Houston 2014
133 Jim Murphy R Houston 2010
134 Sarah Davis R Houston 2010
135 Gary Elkins R Houston 1994
136 Tony Dale R Cedar Park 2012 Williamson (part)
137 Gene Wu D Houston 2012 Harris (part)
138 Dwayne Bohac R Houston 2002
139 Jarvis Johnson D Houston 2016†
140 Armando Walle D Houston 2008
141 Senfronia Thompson D Houston 1972
142 Harold Dutton Jr. D Houston 1984
143 Ana Hernandez D Houston 2005†
144 Mary Ann Perez D Houston 2016
145 Carol Alvarado D Houston 2008
146 Shawn Thierry D Houston 2016
147 Garnet Coleman D Houston 1991†
148 Jessica Christina Farrar D Houston 1994
149 Hubert Vo D Houston 2004
150 Valoree Swanson R Houston 2016
†Representative was first elected in a special election.

Notable past members

Officials

Speaker of the House

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.[4]

Chief Clerk

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.[5] 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.[4]

Committees

  • Agriculture and Livestock
  • Appropriations[6]
    • Subcommittee on Articles I, IV & V
    • Subcommittee on Article II
    • Subcommittee on Article III
    • Subcommittee on Articles VI, VII & VIII
    • Subcommittee on Budget Transparency & Reform
  • Business & Industry
  • Calendars
  • Corrections
  • County Affairs
  • Criminal Jurisprudence
  • Culture, Recreation, & Tourism
  • Defense & Veterans' Affairs
  • Economic & Small Business Development
    • Subcommittee on Small Business
  • Elections
  • Emerging Issues in Texas Law Enforcement (Select)
  • Energy Resources
  • Environmental Regulation
  • General Investigating & Ethics
  • Higher Education
    • Subcommittee on Post-Secondary & Workforce Readiness
  • Homeland Security & Public Safety
  • House Administration
  • Human Services
  • Insurance
  • International Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs
  • Investments & Financial Services
    • Subcommittee on Bond Indebtedness
  • Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
  • Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
  • Land & Resource Management
  • Licensing & Administrative Procedures
  • Local & Consent Calendars
  • Natural Resources
    • Subcommittee on Special Water Districts
  • Pensions
  • Public Education
    • Subcommittee on Educator Equality
  • Public Health
  • Redistricting
  • Rules & Resolutions
  • Special Purpose Districts
  • State Affairs
  • State & Federal Power & Responsibility (Select)
  • Transportation
  • Transportation Planning (Select)
    • Subcommittee on Long-Term Infrastructure Planning
  • Urban Affairs
  • Ways & Means

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

  • Criminal Justice Legislative Oversight
  • Legislative Audit Board
  • Legislative Budget Board
  • Legislative Library Board
  • Sunset Advisory Commission
  • Texas Legislative Council

Notable controversies

House voting controversy

On May 14, 2007, CBS Austin affiliate KEYE reported on multiple voting by representatives during House floor sessions.[7] The report noted how representatives register votes for absent members on the House's automated voting machines. Each representative would vote for the nearest absent members (apparently regardless of party affiliation). This practice was in direct violation of a Rule of the House; however, no representative had ever been disciplined for the practice in the almost 70 years since the rule was adopted. Speaker Craddick, responsible for enforcement of House Rules, issued a statement that discipline for violations of the rule is left to the individual members.

Craddick removal controversy

Chaos erupted in the Texas House of Representatives on Friday, May 25, 2007, when Rep. Fred Hill, R-Richardson, attempted to offer a motion to remove Tom Craddick as Speaker and have the House elect a new speaker. Craddick (also a Republican) refused to allow him to make the motion.[8] The attempts to oust Craddick continued through the weekend as other Republicans made additional motions, which were also disallowed.

The last time a Texas House speaker was removed by a vote of his fellow members was in 1871, when the House adopted a resolution removing Speaker Ira Evans. The Republican House majority removed Evans because he was seen as cooperating too much with Democrats on an elections bill.[8] While Craddick's close allies say the 2007 attempt to remove Craddick was just an effort by Democrats to gain greater control of the Legislature before the legislative and congressional redistricting process of 2011,[8] Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, says the fight was about Craddick consolidating power with lobbyists and using campaign contributions to maintain control in the House: "This is about the convergence of money and power and influence," Cook said.[8]

In January 2009, Craddick lost the Speaker's chair after a challenge from Joe Straus.

Cook committee hearing closure controversy (2013)

On June 20, 2013 Byron Cook served as chairman of the House State Affairs Committee hearing on Texas State House Bill 60. Cook's stance was for the passing of the bill and during the hearing he interrupted a testimony, saying "Some of us do (adopt children)." At 12:00 AM on June 21, Cook decided to close the hearing prematurely.[9] Cook's explanation for breaching Texas State Legislature operating procedures was that the testimonies being heard had become repetitive. Twenty-four minutes later, Cook became personally offended by a testimony, ordering the cameras to be shut off and leaving the room of committee members and witnesses. Approximately 20 minutes afterwards, Cook was persuaded by colleagues to resume the hearing and continued listening to testimonies until he prematurely closed the hearing at 1:30 AM.[10]

See also

  • Thomas Caruthers
  • Killer Ds a group of Texas House Democrats who left the state of Texas in 2003 to prevent House consideration of the redistricting legislation that benefited Texas Republicans.
  • Texas Government Newsletter for long-time coverage of issues such as the Dirty Thirty, the Killer Bees, and Killer D's.

References

  1. ^ Elected as a Democrat in 2010, Lozano switched parties in March 2012.
  2. ^ Gonzalez, John W. (April 21, 2015). "Minjarez captures Texas House District 124 - San Antonio Express-News". Mysanantonio.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  3. ^ Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-2012. U.S. Government Printing Office. 2013. p. 422. ISBN 016092068X.
  4. ^ a b "Texas House Rules" (PDF). Texas House of Representatives. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  5. ^ "Service Providers". Guide to Texas Legislative Information. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  6. ^ The biennial appropriations bill is divided into eight Articles: General Government (I), Health and Human Services (II), Agencies of Education (III), The Judiciary (IV), Public Safety and Criminal Justice (V), Natural Resources (VI), Business and Economic Development (VII), and Regulatory (VIII). See http://gov.texas.gov/budget for an example of a budget showing the Articles.
  7. ^ CBS Channel 42 KeyeTV Investigates: One Lawmaker, Many Votes?, May 14, 2007, available at "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG6X-xtVask"; see also Wilson, Nanci, One Lawmaker, Many Votes?, May 14, 2007, available at "www.keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_134224129.html"
  8. ^ a b c d R.G. Ratcliffe and Gary Scharrer. "The House struggles to move forward". Houston Chronicle, chron.com (May 27, 2007). Retrieved May 27, 2007.
  9. ^ "Anti-Abortion Bills Back on the Table". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  10. ^ "House panel quickly OKs 3 abortion bills". www.statesman.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.

External links