Lens on the Legislature: Start Your Engines

The first Congress of the Republic of Texas met in October 1836 in what today is West Columbia. After Texas achieved statehood in 1845, the 20 senators and 66 representatives of the Texas Legislature convened their first regular session on February 16, 1846 in Austin, three blocks south of the current Capitol. The Legislative Research Library maintains a list of the 78 regular sessions that have now occurred, along with additional information about some of the sessions.

The 79th Legislature was convened on Tuesday and is the focus of this week's column. Today's legislature is comprised of 31 senators and 150 representatives, although one representative was not sworn in because she is being appointed to an Executive Branch position (see article elsewhere in this issue).

Of the 31 senators, 27 are male and 4 are female. 19 senators are Republicans; 12 are Democrats. All were incumbents.

Of the 149 representatives who were sworn in, 118 are male and 31 are female. 86 representatives are Republicans; 63 are Democrats. 132 were incumbents; 17 are serving their first term.

23 legislators are younger than 40; 50 are in their forties; 56 are in their fifties; 43 in their sixties; and 8 are elder statesmen.

Article III, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution states that The Legislature shall meet every two years at such time as may be provided by law and at other times when convened by the Governor. Chapter 301 of the Government Code establishes the convening time for the biennial regular sessions as 12 noon on the second Tuesday in January of odd number years. Article III. Section 24(b) of the Texas Constitution limits regular sessions to 140 days, which means the last day of the 79th session will be on May 30, 2005.

The opening sessions in each house lasted a little over two hours and were mostly ceremonial.

The Lieutenant Governor, who is elected by the voters in a statewide election, also serves as the President of the Senate. Senators, however, also elect a President pro tempore who fills an important constitutional role. For instance, next week when both Governor Perry and Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst will be out-of-state attending the inauguration, the President pro tempore of the Senate will serve as Acting Governor. Senator Florence Shapiro of Plano was elected to that position. Six other women have served as President pro tempore, including the late Barbara Jordon and two currently sitting senators (Senator Zaffirini and Senator Nelson). Senator Shapiro has been serving as Chair of the Senate Education Committee and will undoubtedly be a key player in the school finance discussions that will be a major topic for the 79th Legislature.

Unlike the Senate, where the presiding officer is a statewide elected official, the House of Representatives elects its own presiding officer. As provided for in the Government Code, Secretary of State Geoffrey Connor presided over the election of the Speaker. After his election, Speaker Tom Craddick took the chair.

The House of Representatives exercised a new constitutional provision at the opening session. Recognizing that legislators who serve in the military reserves or the National Guard may be on active duty during legislative sessions, the 78th Legislature (2003) passed House Joint Resolution 84 that proposed a constitutional amendment allowing such a legislator to appoint a substitute. The voters approved that amendment in November 2003. Rep. Rick Noriega of Houston is serving in the Army National Guard in Afghanistan. Rep. John Davis read Major Noriega's email designating his wife Melissa and then moved acceptance of a House Resolution authorizing Melissa Noriega to hold the full rights and privileges of the office during Rick's absence. It was unanimously approved.

700 bills have been filed through last evening and the pace will pick up rapidly. Over 9,000 were filed during the 78th Regular Session. A future Lens on the Legislature will discuss the process for introducing and acting on bills.