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.
Contents
Leadership
The leadership for the 89th Legislature is as follows:
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
Republicans currently hold a majority of seats in the House.
List of current representatives
Notable past members
Eligio (Kika) De La Garza, II, 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).
Ray Barnhart, Federal Highway Administrator (1981–1987)
Anita Lee Blair, first blind woman elected to a state legislature
Jack Brooks, U.S. Representative (1953–1995)
Dolph Briscoe, Governor of Texas (1973–1979)
Frank Kell Cahoon, Midland County oilman and representative from 1965 to 1969; only Republican member in 1965 legislative session
Joaquin Castro, U.S. Representative (2013–present)
Jasmine Crockett, U.S. Representative (2023–present)
Henry Cuellar, U.S. Representative (2005–present)
Tom DeLay, U.S. Representative (1985–2006) and House Majority Leader (2003–2005)
Jake Ellzey, U.S. Representative (2022–present)
Pat Fallon, U.S. Representative (2021–present)
John Nance Garner, U.S. Representative (1903–1933), Speaker of the House (1931–1933), and Vice President of the United States (1933–1941)
Craig Goldman, U.S. Representative (2025-present)
Lance Gooden, U.S. Representative (2019–present)
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.
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. 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.
Committee structure
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 the membership of which are wholly chosen by the Speaker).
Agriculture and Livestock (9)
Appropriations (27)
Subcommittee on Articles I, IV & V
Subcommittee on Article II
Subcommittee on Article III
Subcommittee on Articles VI, VII & VIII
Subcommittee on Strategic Fiscal Review
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)