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Texas Legislature Online: Home

A guide to using the Texas Legislature Online site

Overview

Texas Legislature Online was introduced on December 12, 1996. The legislature is made up of two bodies, the Senate and the House. The Senate has 31 members, and the House has 150. The first session of the Legislature was held from February 16-May 13, 1846. A regular session starts on the 2nd Tuesday in January of each odd-numbered year. The session is limited to 140 days. The governor may call special sessions whenever he wants. A special session is limited to 30 days. A bill that is passed takes effect 90 days after passage or earlier if both houses votes to do so. Members of the legislature are elected into office. Each body has an elected official that presides over them. TLO is used to track the bills through the bodies and learn more about the House and Senate.

Online access available at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/.

Contents

  • TLO includes information about the Texas House and Senate members, legislation, committees, committee meetings, daily business and agencies.
     
  • Texas Legislation is included and you can lookup bills, view reports, access vote information, and download documents.
     
  • The Calendars are included by specific date, upcoming date, and specific legislature.
     
  • The main feature of TLO is the ability to search. You can search bills, text (bill analyses, fiscal notes, and amendments), amendments, Texas statutes, house and senate journals, Texas Constitution, and the legislative archive system.
     
  • Also, you can sign up for alerts and keep a list of bills you want to watch.