Texas Senate

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Texas Senate
89th Texas Legislature
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Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 14, 2025
Leadership
Dan Patrick (R)
since January 20, 2015
Charles Perry (R)
since June 2, 2025
Majority Leader
Tan Parker (R)
since January 14, 2025
Minority Leader
Carol Alvarado (D)
since January 8, 2020
Structure
Seats31
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Political groups
Majority

Minority

Vacant

Length of term
4 years (with one 2-year term each decade)
AuthorityArticle 3, Texas Constitution
Salary$7,200/year + per diem
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
November 5, 2024
(15 seats)
Next election
November 3, 2026
(16 seats)
RedistrictingLegislative control
Meeting place
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State Senate Chamber
Texas State Capitol
Austin, Texas
Website
https://senate.texas.gov

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The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form a bicameral system for the state legislature of Texas.[1] The Senate has meetings at the Texas State Capitol in Austin for several occasions, such as budgeting, lawmaking, addressing important issues, or joint sessions.[2]

The Republicans currently control the chamber. With 1 vacant seat, there is currently a total of 18 Republicans and 12 Democrats making up the Senate. [citation needed]

The Senate is made up of 31 members, where each represents a single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 940,000 per constituency, based on the 2020 U.S. census. Texas Senate districts contain the second largest electorate per member for a legislature in the United States (slightly under the 988,000 per California State Senator). Elections are held in even-numbered years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.[3]

Senators serve four year terms, with no term limits. Senators are divided into two groups based in part on the intervening Census:[4]

  • In elections in years ending in "2" (the election after the Census), all 31 seats are up for election.
  • Once the Senate meets in session after said election, the Senators will participate in a drawing to determine their election cycle:
    • One-half will have a 2-4-4 cycle, whereupon the seat would stand for election after two years (the year ending in "4"), then again in four years (the year ending in "8"), then finally in another four years (coinciding with all seats standing for election in the year ending in "2").
    • The other half will have a 4-4-2 cycle, whereupon the seat would stand for election after four years (the year ending in "6"), then again in four years (the year ending in "0"), then finally in only two years (coinciding with all seats standing for election in the year ending in "2").

As such, every two years, almost half of the senate is up for election.

Leadership

The Lieutenant Governor of Texas serves as the President of the Senate. Unlike most lieutenant governors who are constitutionally designated as presiding officers of the upper house, the Lieutenant Governor regularly presides over the chamber rather than delegate this role to the President Pro Tempore. The Lieutenant Governor's duties include appointing chairs of committees, committee members, assigning and referring bills to specific committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. The Lieutenant Governor may also cast a vote should a Senate floor vote end in a tie. If the Senate votes to dissolve itself into the Committee of the Whole, in which all members are part of the Committee, the President Pro-Tempore presides over the proceedings, with the Lieutenant Governor acting as a regular voting member. Due to the various powers of committee selection and bill assignment, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas is considered one of the most powerful lieutenant governorships in the United States.

Unlike other state legislatures, the Texas Senate does not have official majority or minority leaders. Instead, the President Pro Tempore is considered the second most powerful position, regardless of party affiliation. Presidents Pro Tempore are usually the most senior members of the Senate. The President Pro Tempore presides when the Lieutenant Governor is not present or when the legislature is not in regular session.

Leaders

Position Name Party Residence District
Lieutenant Governor/President of the Senate Dan Patrick style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Republican Houston Elected Statewide
President Pro Tempore Charles Perry style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Republican Lubbock 28[5]

History

Quorum-busting

Script error: No such module "labelled list hatnote". There have been at least three cases of quorum-busting in Texas Senate history. The first case was in 1870, with the Rump Senate, followed by the 1979 Killer Bees[6] and finally the "Texas Eleven" in August 2003 during the controversial mid-decade redistricting plan at the time.[7]

Committee structure

The Lieutenant Governor appoints the members to the various standing committees. The exact number and size of these committees can change with any given session. In addition to the standing committees there can be issue specific special, joint, and interim committees.

The following represents the Senate standing committee structure for the 89th Legislature (numbers in parentheses are the number of committee members).[8]

  • Administration (7)
  • Border Security (5)
  • Business and Commerce (11)
  • Criminal Justice (7)
  • Economic Development (5)
  • Education K-16 (11)
  • Finance (15)
  • Health & Human Services (8)
  • Jurisprudence (5)
  • Local Government (7)
  • Natural Resources (8)
  • Nominations (9)
  • State Affairs (11)
  • Transportation (9)
  • Veteran Affairs (7)
  • Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs (9)

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

Current composition

↓
style="background:Template:Party color; width:38.7%" | 12 style="background:Template:Party color; width:61.3%" | 19
style="color:Template:Party color" | Democratic style="color:Template:Party color" | Republican
Affiliation Party
(shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | style="background-color:Template:Party color" |
Republican Democratic Vacant
2011–12 style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|19 12 31
2013–14 style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|19 12 31 0
2015–16 style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|20 11 31 0
2017–18 style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|20 11 31 0
2019–20 style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|19 12 31 0
2021–22 style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|18 13 31 0
2023–24 style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|19 12 31 0
Begin 2025 style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|20 11 31 0
June 18, 2025[13] style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|19 30 1
October 2, 2025[14] style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" rowspan=2|18 29 2
January 31, 2026[15] 12 30 1
Latest voting share style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" | Script error: No such module "Percentage". Script error: No such module "Percentage".
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Senate districts and party affiliation after the 2024 election Page Template:Legend/styles.css has no content.
  Republican Party
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  Democratic Party

Current members, 2025–2027

District Name Party Residence Start Next Election
1 File:Bryan Hughes by Gage Skidmore.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Mineola 2016 2026
2 File:Senator Bob Hall.png Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Edgewood 2014 2026
3 Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Jacksonville 2006 2026
4 Vacant[a] 2026 2026
5 Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Georgetown 2012 2026
6 File:Texas State Senator Carol Alvarado.png Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic Houston 2018[b] 2028
7 File:Paul Bettencourt.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Houston 2014 2028
8 File:Angela Paxton (53805316919) (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican McKinney 2018 2028
9 File:Taylor Rehmet on the Tashara Parker Show.png Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic Fort Worth[17] 2026[b] 2026
10 File:Phil King Open Congress Austin 2023.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Weatherford 2022 2028
11 File:Mayes Middleton by Gage Skidmore.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Friendswood 2022 2026
12 Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Flower Mound 2022 2028
13 File:Borris Miles (Texas state senator) at Massachusetts State House on Aug. 5, 2025, amid Texas walkout over redistricting.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic Houston 2016 2026
14 File:Sarah Eckhardt (Texas State Senator) at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Aug. 5, 2025, during Texas walkout over redistricting.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic Austin 2020[b] 2028
15 Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic Houston 2024[b] 2028
16 File:Nathan M. Johnson (Texas Senate) speaks at Massachusetts State House on Aug. 5, 2025, amid Texas walkout over redistricting (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic Dallas 2018 2028
17 File:Joan Huffman.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Houston 2008[b] 2028
18 File:Lois Kolkhorst.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Brenham 2014[b] 2026
19 File:Roland Gutierrez 2025 (Politician) (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic San Antonio 2020 2026
20 File:Juan Hinojosa 2008.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic McAllen 2002 2028
21 File:Judith Zaffirini 2009 CROPPED.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic Laredo 1986 2026
22 File:Brian Birdwell AFC Army Birthday Celebration (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Granbury 2010[b] 2026
23 File:Texas State Rep. Royce West 2021 (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic Dallas 1992 2028
24 File:Pete Flores.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Pleasanton 2022 2026
25 File:Donna Campbell.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican New Braunfels 2012 2028
26 File:Senator Jose Menendez.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic San Antonio 2015[b] 2026
27 Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Corpus Christi 2024 2028
28 Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Lubbock 2014[b] 2026
29 File:Cesar Blanco Open Congress Austin 2023.jpg Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" |Democratic El Paso 2020 2028
30 Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Denton 2024 2028
31 Script error: No such module "sort". style="color:black; background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading" |Republican Midland 2022 2026

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  1. ^ Republican Brandon Creighton resigned on October 2, 2025, to become chancellor of the Texas Tech University System.[16]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i First elected in a special election.

Past composition of the Senate

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The Senate was continuously held by Democrats from the end of the Reconstruction era until the Seventy-fifth Texas Legislature was seated in 1997, at which point Republicans took control. The Republican Party has maintained its control of the Senate since then.

Obsolete districts

Notable past members

See also

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Notes

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References

  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Texas Government 2.0, The Texas Legislature, The Structure and Function of the Texas Legislature". OERTX. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Méndez, María (January 13, 2025). "Texas Legislature 101: How bills become laws — and how you can participate in the process". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ELECTION CODE CHAPTER 41. ELECTION DATES AND HOURS FOR VOTING". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 3. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Texas State Senate – Senator Charles Perry: District 28". senate.texas.gov. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."12 Texas State Senators, Claiming Political Victory, Come Out of Hiding". New York Times. May 23, 1979. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  7. ^ Fikac, Peggy, August 21, 2003, Senators' 1870 walkout also drew GOP's wrath Reconstruction-era tiff led to arrests and one expulsion, San Antonio Express-News
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Texas State Senate – Committees of the Texas Senate". senate.texas.gov. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Texas State Auditor's Office – Legislative Audit Committee".
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Legislative Budget Board".
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Legislative Reference Library |". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.""Lieutenant Governors of Texas, 1846 – present"". tlc.texas.gov. Retrieved August 6, 2024 – via Legislative Reference Library of Texas.
  13. ^ Republican Kelly Hancock (District 9) resigned to take office as Comptroller of Texas. [1]
  14. ^ Republican Brandon Creighton (District 4) resigned to take office as Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. [2]
  15. ^ Democrat Taylor Rehmet elected to succeed Hancock. [3]
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Richter, Roland (October 3, 2025). "State senator resigns to take new job". FOX 44 News. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Montgomery, David (October 21, 2025). "No state senator lives in Fort Worth. Does it matter?". Fort Worth Report. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Legislative Reference Library | Legislators and Leaders | Lt. Governors of Texas, 1846 – present". lrl.texas.gov. Retrieved May 15, 2025.

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