Skip Navigation

Monday, March 15, 2010

Texas Senate

text size A A A

The Texas Senate is the upper chamber of the state's bicameral Legislature. It is comprised of 31 state senators and the lieutenant governor, who serves as president of the Senate.

Senators serve four-year terms and are not term limited.

The second-highest post in the Senate is the president pro-tempore, who can come from either party and is usually determined by seniority.

It is the Senate's responsibility to confirm the governor's appointments, which require a two-thirds majority.

Traditionally, the Senate rules require a two-thirds majority to consent to bring a bill to the floor for debate. The 2009 session began with a heated debate over an ultimately successful attempt to grant controversial Voter ID legislation an exception to that rule, which is known as the "two-thirds rule."   

Related Stories

  • Let the Counting Begin

    Census Bureau questionnaires arrive at 8.4 million Texas homes this week. "Fill that sucker out," the bureau's regional director says, "so we don't have to come and knock on your door."

    by Matt Stiles 3/15/10

  • 2010: Averitt Resigns

    Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, resigned from office Monday, a week after winning the GOP primary for reelection to a seat he no longer wants to hold.

    by Ross Ramsey 3/8/10

  • 2010: Sibley, Standing By

    Former state Sen. David Sibley, R-Waco, is talking to people about getting back into the Legislature when Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, gets out. But he's not out yet, and there are two exits.

    by Ross Ramsey 3/5/10

  • Primary Color: SD-5

    Forget about issues. The GOP primary for this Senate seat in Central Texas is all about honesty and integrity. Incumbent Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, says of his challenger, Ben Bius, "I can't remember the last time he said something truthful." Bius says of Ogden, "I can forgive a man a policy difference if he keeps his word."

    by Brian Thevenot 2/23/10

  • The Last Time Around

    How will lawmakers deal with a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion — and maybe several billion more — in the next legislative session? In all likelihood, by doing what they did in 2003, when things were almost this bad.

    by Julian Aguilar 2/10/10

  • Averitt's Out. Now What?

    The Waco senator's exit could open the door for the Democrats, who don't have a candidate in the race but might get a chance to add one.

    by Ross Ramsey 1/14/10

  • 2010: The Democrats Muck Their Hand in Waco

    You cannot win if you do not play: Poker players know it, and the Ds, if they mean to make this a two-party state again, need to know it too.

    by Evan Smith 1/14/10

  • 2010: Kip Averitt Drops Senate Reelection Bid

    A Burleson insurance agent who was challenging him in the primary is the beneficiary of his unexpected decision, as no Democrat filed to run in the race.

    by Evan Smith 1/14/10

  • TribBlog: Access Granted

    Should reporters wear muzzles when they're around politicians? Some states seem to think so, but not, thankfully, Texas.

    by Julian Aguilar 1/11/10

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    Roll your own political videos ... interactive travel maps of your federal and state legislators ... scary movies, to keep the kids out of the border's scary drug wars ... puttting dropouts back in class ... rates squeezing families out of home health care ... how many lobby and trade associations do teachers in Texas need? ... enjoying the silence before an expected two-month siege of political advertising ... the dean of Texas political writers gets shut out of the gubernatorial debates ... and we have an interactive database of the state's best and worst public schools. The best of our best for a short news week, from December 19 to 26, 2009.

    by Ross Ramsey 12/26/09

  • Never Can Say Goodbye

    Texas voters won't be offered a real chance at change in the Legislature and Congress next year. Four out of five state and federal lawmakers face no real competition in their primary or general elections.

    by Ross Ramsey 12/15/09

  • Mapmaker, Mapmaker

    Think like the political pros and your mind will go to the long game instead of the short one. The short game is the elections of 2010. The long game is redistricting in 2011, when maps are drawn that corral the voters into the districts that will elect legislators for the next ten years.

    by Ross Ramsey 12/14/09

  • 2010: Paxton Ducks

    Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, is not, Not, NOT running against Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, in spite of reports that he was planning a challenge.

    by Ross Ramsey 12/2/09

  • 2010: Stalking Steve Ogden

    Rep. Dan Gattis says state Sen. Steve Ogden is running for reelection after all. But Ogden has maintained radio silence, not commenting (except through staff, who are happy to tell reporters that there's no comment available).

    by Ross Ramsey 12/1/09

  • TribBlog: A Bolly-"Good Business Decision"

    Dan Patrick is changing the programming at his Dallas station exclusively to Indian music.

    by Matt Stiles 11/30/09